If you drink and drive in St. Mary’s County beware, Maryland State Policeis joining with law enforcement throughout the state for the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign and will be conducting sobriety checkpoints over the Memorial Day weekend.
The strong statewide impaired driving crackdown will include high-visibility enforcement, in an effort to both identify and arrest impaired driving, deter impaired driving, and raise awareness of continued efforts to combat impaired driving.
Maryland State Police said its Troopers will be aggressively looking forimpaired drivers during the crackdown and will arrest anyone caught driving impaired.
It is illegal in all 50 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 grams per deciliter.Despite these laws, in 2010 more than 10,000 people died in crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was impaired.
“On average there is one alcohol impaired driving-related fatality every 51 minutes across America.But this tragic loss of life can be reduced if we get impaired drivers off our roadways,” said Lt. Michael Thompson, Maryland State Police – Leonardtown Barrack. “Research has shown that high-visibility enforcement like the 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' campaign reduces alcohol-impaired driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent.”
According to Maryland State Policeviolators face jail time, loss of their driver licenses, and steep financial consequences such as higher insurance rates, attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of job. When family, friends and co-workers find out, violators also often face tremendous personal embarrassment.
“We encourage the public to work with law enforcement.Report suspected impaired drivers by dialing #77 from cell phones.Remember, we will be out in force and we will be watching, so ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,’” said Lt. Michael Thompson.
For more information, visit the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Campaign Headquarters at www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober
