During the Labor Day holiday, including the end of summertime and the busy Labor Day weekend, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working alongside the law enforcement community in Berrien County to decrease impaired driving.
From August 12 through September 5, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office will be participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement period. In support of the law enforcement community’s dedication to protecting the lives of local residents, you will see officers working together to take impaired drivers off the roads.
In 2021, nearly 45 percent of fatalities on Michigan roadways involved alcohol and/or drugs, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Over the Labor Day holiday weekend periods from 2017 to 2021, there were 39 drivers killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in Michigan. In those crashes, one-third of the drivers killed were alcohol-impaired.
“We want to support our community by keeping it safe from impaired drivers,” said Sheriff Paul Bailey. “The bottom line is that no matter what the substance is, if it has impaired you, you should not be driving. We want everyone to enjoy the last weeks of summer and the Labor Day holiday. Please commit to yourself and your community members that you’ll drive sober each and every day.”
Officers will be on the lookout for motorists under the influence of drugs and alcohol throughout the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement period. In Michigan, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, although motorists can be arrested at any BAC level if an officer believes they are impaired.
Also, in Michigan during 2021:
· There were 9,557 alcohol-involved crashes (with 357 alcohol-involved fatalities) and 2,999 drug[1]involved crashes (with 275 drug-involved fatalities).
· One person was killed in an alcohol-involved crash every 24 hours and 32 minutes.
· In all traffic crashes occurring over the Labor Day holiday period, 11 people died.
