This holiday season, Richland County police will be out in force cracking down on drunk drivers throughout the region with aggressive Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement. From Dec. 13, 2013, to Jan. 1, 2014, state and local law enforcement will be watching for drunk drivers to help keep roads safe for holiday travelers.
Richland County officers, deputies and troopers will be aggressively looking for impaired drivers and will arrest anyone caught driving impaired. Enforcement efforts will include units from the villages of Bellville, Butler, Lexington, and Plymouth, the cities of Mansfield, Ontario, and Shelby, the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and the Mansfield post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Unfortunately, the excitement and celebrations of the holiday season can lead to terrible decisions and serious legal consequences. Data shows that the holiday season is a particularly deadly time due to the increased number of drunk drivers on the roads. Nationally, in the Decembers from 2007 to 2011 there were 4,169 people killed in crashes that involved drivers with blood alcohol concentrations of .08 grams per deciliter or higher (the nation’s legal limit).
According to Ohio Department of Public Safety crash statistics, in Ohio last year 470 people were killed and 7,589 people injured in alcohol-related crashes. 22 of those fatalities and 620 injuries occurred in December. Richland County had four alcohol-related fatalities in 2012 and 101 injuries in alcohol-related crashes.
“The December holiday season is the ‘most wonderful time of the year,’ and we are going to keep our roads safe for travelers heading to visit friends and family,” said Reed Richmond, Health Educator at the Mansfield/Ontario/Richland County Health Department and a Richland County Safe Communities Coalition spokesperson “This holiday, we will show zero tolerance for drunk drivers on the road. If you choose to drive drunk, we will see you, we will stop you, and you will be arrested.”
Drunk drivers often face jail time, the loss of their driver licenses, higher insurance rates, and dozens of other unanticipated expenses ranging from attorney fees, court costs, car towing and repairs, to lost wages due to time off from work. Even worse, a drunk driver can cause a traffic crash that claims someone’s life, or their own.
“No one ever thinks that their holiday celebration will end in jail, or worse, in a hospital or the morgue,” said Richmond. “But for those who include alcohol in their celebrations and then get behind the wheel, this is often the case.”
Please follow these tips to keep the holidays safe and happy:
Even one drink can impair your judgment and increase the risk of getting arrested for driving drunk—or worse, the risk of having a crash while driving.
If you will be drinking, do not plan on driving. Plan ahead; designate a sober driver before the party begins.
If you have been drinking, do not drive. Call a taxi, phone a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.
If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement. Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost a life.
Remember, it is never safe to drink and drive: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. For more information, visit www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov.
