Drive sober or get pulled over
PPD to hold DUI checkpoint, saturation DUI patrols over Labor Day weekend
The Porterville Police Department Traffic Unit will conduct a Dui/driver’s license checkpoint at an undisclosed location within the city limits along with special DUI Roving Saturation Patrols during the Labor Day weekend.
The Porterville Police Department Traffic Unit will conduct a DUI/ driver’s license checkpoint at an undisclosed location within the city limits along with special DUI Roving Saturation Patrols during the Labor Day weekend.
Porterville Police Sgt. Mark Knox said the DUI/ driver’s license checkpoint will run from 8:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 1. He said the Roving DUI Saturation Patrols will run from 8:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 2.
Campaign Background Knox said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will partner with the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and law enforcement nationwide during the 2017 Labor Day Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over high-visibility enforcement campaign from Aug. 16 through Sept. 4.
Knox said the 2017 enforcement campaign includes the Labor Day holiday weekend, which he said is one of the deadliest times of the year for drunk-driving fatalities. With NHTSA’S support, Knox said state and local law enforcement agencies across the nation are stepping up enforcement to put an end to drunk driving.
Knox said high-visibility enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes. Research shows, Knox said, that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.
Knox said officers will look for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment. When possible, Knox said specially-trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which he said now accounts for a growing number of drug impaired driving crashes.
Sobering Statistics Knox said approximately one-third of all traffic crash fatalities in the U.S. involve drunk drivers (with a blood alcohol concentration [BAC] of .08 or higher). In 2015, Knox said there were 10,265 people killed in drunk-driving crashes, an increase from the 9,967 people killed in 2014.
In 2015, Knox said approximately one in five children (14 and younger) killed in traffic crashes were killed in drunk-driving crashes. Knox said 51 percent of the time it was the child’s own driver who was drunk.
Despite the fact that it’s illegal to drive with a BAC of .08 or higher, Knox said one person is killed every 51 minutes by a drunk driver on the nation’s roadways.
Of the 10,265 people killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2015, Knox said 63 percent were the drunk drivers themselves.
Knox said men are more likely than women to drive drunk in fatal crashes. In 2015, Knox said 21 percent of males were impaired in these crashes, compared to 14 percent of females.
Knox said motorcycle riders have the highest overall rate of alcohol impairment in fatal crashes. In 2015, Knox said 27 percent of the motorcycle riders killed were riding impaired, compared to 21 percent for passenger cars, and 20 percent for light trucks.
Drug Impaired Driving In recent years, Knox said California has seen a disturbing increase in drug-impaired driving crashes. He said the California Office of Traffic Safety is aiming to educate all drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.”
“If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI,” Knox said, adding that marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI. Labor Day Statistics Over the 2015 Labor Day holiday period, Knox said there were 460 crash fatalities nationwide. Forty percent of those fatal crashes, Knox said, involved drivers who had been drinking (.01+ BAC).
Of those alcohol-related fatal crashes, Knox said nearly one third (33 percent) involved drivers who were impaired (.08+ BAC), and nearly one-fourth (23 percent) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the illegal limit (.15+ BAC).
In fatal crashes in August during the years 2011-2015, Knox said more than half (55 percent) of the drivers involved who had one or more previous convictions for drunk driving, were impaired with a BAC of .08 or higher. Among drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2015, Knox said 44 percent of those fatalities involved drunk drivers with BACS of .08 or higher.
Financial Impacts On average, Knox said a DUI can set someone back $10,000 in attorney fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, car towing and repairs, and more.
“The financial impact from impaired-driving crashes can be devastating,” Knox said.
Based on 2010 numbers (the most recent year for which cost data is available), Knox said impaired-driving crashes cost the U.S. $44 billion annually.
Celebrate With a Plan Knox said to remember that it is never OK to drink and drive.
“Even if you’ve had one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation to get home safely,” Knox said.
Knox said drivers are encouraged to download the OTS Designated Driver VIP, or “DDVIP,” free mobile application for
Android or iphone. The DDVIP application, Knox said, helps find nearby bars and restaurants that feature free incentives for the designated sober driver, from free nonalcoholic drinks to free appetizers and more.
Knox said the featurepacked application even has social media tie-ins and even a tab for the non-dd to call Uber, Lyft or Curb.
“If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact the Porterville Police Department at 782-7400 or 911,” Knox said.
For those who have a friend who is about to drink and drive, Knox said to take the keys away and make arrangements to get them home safely.
Knox said funding for this checkpoint and saturation patrol is provided to Porterville Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to ‘Report Drunk Driver – Call 911.’