In an ongoing traditional bid to help keep everyone safe this holiday season, law enforcement officials all across Michigan are reprising their zero tolerance campaign urging residents to Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. To protect lives, increased patrols are now on roads having begun last Friday, December 11th and running to January 1, 2021, with zero tolerance for those who drive impaired.
Throughout 2019, there were 9,787 alcohol-involved crashes in Michigan with 295 alcohol-involved fatalities statewide.
Michael L. Prince, Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) Director, says, “Drunk driving is deadly and illegal. Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after you’ve been drinking endangers you, your passengers, and everyone else on the road,” and adds, “Even if your travel plans are different this year, and you’re just making short trips near home, always drive sober.”
December has been proclaimed as Impaired Driving Prevention Month in Michigan to remember those who lost their lives due to impaired driving and to remind us all that preventing impaired driving deaths and injuries is every driver’s responsibility.
According to the 2019 Michigan Annual Drunk Driving Audit by the Michigan State Police, 41.9-percent of all fatal crashes that occurred involved alcohol, drugs, or both. The National Association of Drug Court Professionals recognizes December as one of the most dangerous months because of an increase in impaired driving.
The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign is supported with federal traffic safety funds provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and coordinated by the OHSP.
