This Labor Day weekend, law enforcement in Lincoln County are participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over impaired driving awareness campaign, which runs from August 18 through September 6, 2021. In support of the law enforcement community’s dedication to protecting the lives of residents of our communities, you’ll see deputies and other law enforcement officers working together during this holiday weekend to take drunk drivers off the roads.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 10,142 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2019 that involved an alcohol-impaired driver. On average, more than 10,000 people were killed each year from 2015 to 2019, and one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 52 minutes in 2019. This is why the Toledo Police Department is working together with NHTSA to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal, it is a matter of life and death. As you head out to the Labor Day festivities, remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.
During the 2019 Labor Day holiday period (6 p.m. August 30 – 5:59 a.m. September 3), there were 451 crash fatalities nationwide. Forty-five percent of those fatalities involved drivers who had been drinking (.01+ BAC). More than one-third (38%) of the fatalities involved drivers who were drunk (.08+ BAC), and nearly one-fourth (24%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Age is a particularly risky factor: Among drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2019, 46% of those drivers were drunk, with BACs of .08 or higher.
The Toledo Police Department recommends these safe alternatives to drinking and driving: • Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation or a ride service to get home safely. • If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact 911 • Do you have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely. For more information on impaired driving, visit https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.
