Facebook
RSS![[Masthead]](http://www.carrollconews.com/images/nameplate.png)
RSS
Print
Email link
Respond to editor
Read comments (1)
The ASP Safety Office is joining state and local law enforcement agencies in a national enforcement campaign known as, "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest."
State Troopers, sheriff's deputies and city police officers across Arkansas will devote additional personnel hours to saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints. The crackdown began Monday and will continue through Jan. 3.
"The focus of this escalated effort is saving lives," said Col. Winford E. Phillips, Director of the Arkansas State Police. "I urge all Arkansans and anyone who plans to drive through the state to drive sober and buckle up, not only through the holidays, but whenever they may be in the driver's seat."
During a five-year period from 2004 through 2008, traffic crashes killed 41 people and injured 4,062 during the combined Christmas and New Year's holiday periods, according to statistical data from the Arkansas Highway Safety Office. The records indicate 44 percent of the fatalities involved alcohol as a contributing factor.
Although traffic fatalities declined by 7.6 percent in Arkansas last year, more than 170 people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher
"The more drunk drivers we can take off the road, the more lives we save," Col. Phillips said.
An impaired driver convicted of the crime runs the risk of losing their driver license, an extended jail sentence and costs of attorney fees and court fines.
Local law enforcement officers and state troopers have committed to work longer hours and target their patrols searching for impaired drivers.
"These officers will not be looking for excuses," Colonel Phillips said. "If you are caught drinking and driving or impaired by drugs, you will be arrested and taken to jail."
The national Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. impaired driving crackdown is a deterrence program organized by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
For more information, visit www.Stopimpaireddriving.org or contact the Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Office at (501) 618-8136.
Comments
Receive FREE text messages (SMS) alerts when upcoming sobriety checkpoints occur in any given area of the United States. Sign up by going to crucialtext.com or by Sending a text message to 41411 with the message " crucialtext subscribe city state county"
Mothers Against Drunk Driving support text alerts
The text messages are "a great idea," says Heidi Castle, a national spokeswoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
The primary purpose of a sobriety checkpoint "is to deter people from driving drunk," Castle says. "You want to stop them before they get on the road." A critical part of that process, she says, is letting the public know that checkpoints are planned.
"It may deter some from making a deadly decision," adds Troy Green, a national spokesman for AAA. If a reminder that police will be stopping motorists causes someone to drink fewer beers or arrange for a designated driver, Green says, "it has the potential to save your life and other lives as well."