Sobriety Checkpoints and Roving DUI Patrols Planned for Adams County

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 17, 2017

SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS AND ROVING DUI PATROLS PLANNED FOR ADAMS, LANCASTER, AND YORK COUNTIES OVER THE LABOR DAY HOLIDAY AS PART OF NATIONAL IMPAIRED DRIVING CRACKDOWN: THIS YEAR’S FOCUS IS “DRUGGED DRIVING”

Summer’s nearly over, and the Labor Day holiday might be your last chance to enjoy warm weather fun. Let’s make sure we’re enjoying it safely. Whether you’re driving to a cookout, the beach, or on a family trip: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.  As the Labor Day holiday is one of the most dangerous on our roads, state and local law enforcement will be making a special effort leading up to and throughout the Labor Day holiday (August 16 – September 4) to protect us all from impaired drivers.

Local and state law enforcement agencies will be conducting enhanced DUI enforcement activity throughout the nation and the Commonwealth during the Labor Day crackdown.  Why so much activity surrounding this particular holiday?  Labor Day is one of the deadliest times of the year due to impaired driving.  According to crash data provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Labor Day is rated the third highest holiday for impaired driving related fatalities, behind pre-Thanksgiving and Pre-Independence Day. 

PennDOT crash data breaks down holidays by pre-, day of, and post-holiday because celebrations generally occur for a period of time before, during, and after any given holiday.  In 2016, pre-Labor Day, there were 1,002 crashes and 14 fatalities involving impaired drivers.  There were 860 crashes resulting in 18 fatalities on Labor Day 2016.  Post-Labor Day there was 1,037 crashes with 14 fatalities.  

Pennsylvania's focus for this mobilization is drugged driving.  Pennsylvania started recognizing DUI crashes were not exclusive to alcohol consumption approximately ten years ago when the Commonwealth joined a handful of other states that started training Drug Recognition Experts, or DREs, to combat the growing problem of drugged drivers.  The Drug Recognition Classification Program was developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and approved by the International Police Chiefs Association. 

Currently, there are over 150 trained Drug Recognition Experts in Pennsylvania, including state and municipal law enforcement officers.  The Commonwealth's specially-trained drug recognition officers will be assisting in the mobilization to identify and arrest the drug impaired driver.                                                

Of all DUI arrests, DUI-Drug arrests continue to climb, now accounting for around 50 percent of all impaired driving arrests; 25% are strictly drug related, while the other 25% are drug combined with alcohol. 

Thanks to our friends in law enforcement and organizations empowered by millions of Americans, we’ve made tremendous progress in changing attitudes about impaired driving to make our roads safer. Since 1982, through tougher laws, smart enforcement, and passionate advocacy, we've cut impaired driving deaths nearly in half nationally. Yet we’re still losing about 10,000 people every year to impaired driving.

Our attitudes and actions have to change when it comes to impaired driving. It begins with all of us and how we treat our family, friends, and neighbors. If you choose to drink and drive—and it is a choice—you risk not only your own life but the lives of innocent people in your community. The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over high-visibility enforcement campaign is your community saying loud and clear that impaired drivers will pay before they cost your community another life.

“Research shows that high-visibility enforcement mobilizations can reduce fatalities by as much as 20 percent,” said Barbara Zortman, director of the Center for Traffic Safety, “The point of announcing enforcement activities in advance is to change risk-taking behaviors of anyone who might normally get behind the wheel impaired, and won’t now because of the heightened risk of getting caught.  Ultimately, the goal is to keep the impaired driver from driving, and to catch those that do and get them off the road before a tragedy occurs.” 

In this day and age of available resources and technology, there’s no excuse for drinking and driving. Not when smartphones put a sober ride at your fingertips. With a ride sharing app or a quick call for a taxi or a local sober ride program, you can stay safe, protect others and avoid arrest. It’s easier than ever with NHTSA’s SaferRide app, which can help you find your local cab company’s number or send your location to a friend so they can come pick you up. The app is available for Android devices on Google Play, and Apple devices on the iTunes store.

So, remember, this Labor Day and every day: Drive Sober of Get Pulled Over.

Sobriety checkpoints, roving DUI patrols, and other enforcement activities organized as part of the Center for Traffic Safety’s program are funded with federal grant money provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and established on sections of roadway which have proven to be high incidence for impaired drivers both in terms of crashes and arrests.

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