Local law enforcement taking part in 2019 holiday season Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement through New Year’s
The holidays are a time for caring and sharing, which is why the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is partnering with local law agencies, such as the Waukon Police Department, to share the message about the dangers of drunk driving. This holiday season, from December 13, 2019 through January 1, 2020, law enforcement will participate in the high-visibility national enforcement campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.
During this period, local law enforcement will show zero tolerance for drunk driving. Increased state and national messages about the dangers of driving impaired, coupled with enforcement and increased officers on the road, aim to drastically reduce drunk driving on this nation’s roadways.
Sadly, the statistics prove that there is still a lot of work to do to put an end to drunk driving. According to NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 10,511 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2018. On average, 10,000 people were killed each year from 2014 to 2018 - one person was killed in drunk-driving crashes every 50 minutes in 2018. That’s the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing each year, with no survivors. This is why local law enforcement is working with the NHTSA to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal, it is also a matter of life and death. Those heading out to festivities during this holiday season, or any time of the year, should remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.
According to NHTSA’s FARS, 839 people lost their lives in traffic crashes involving a drunk driver during the month of December 2018. During the Christmas and New Year’s Day holiday periods in 2018 alone, there were more drunk-driving-related fatalities (285) than during any other holiday period that year.
These fatalities are preventable, and drivers must remember that driving impaired by any substance - drugs or alcohol - is deadly, illegal and selfish behavior.
