Leonville Police say they are participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over impaired driving awareness campaign.
The campaign happens every Labor Day, and this year runs from August 20 until September 6.
"In support of the law enforcement community’s dedication to protecting the lives of residents in their communities, you’ll see officers working together during this holiday weekend to take drunk drivers off the roads. These expanded efforts to protect against impaired driving will be conducted in a fair and equitable way," a release from the police department states.
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 Leonville Police are working with NHTSA to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal, it is a matter of life and death, the release states.
“We want our community members to understand that it’s our first priority to keep people safe, so we’re asking everyone to plan ahead if they know they’ll be out drinking,” said Chief Joseph Noel. “We need commitment from our community members that they’ll keep the streets free of drunk drivers so that everyone can have a safe holiday. This is a campaign to get the message out that drunk driving is illegal and it takes lives. Let’s make this a partnership between law enforcement and drivers: Help us protect the community and put an end to this senseless behavior."
