Charles County Sheriff’s Office Launches ‘Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.’ Crackdown

The Charles County Sheriff’s Office will conduct a series of sobriety checkpoints and patrols during the “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” campaign, an annual impaired-driving crackdown that began Aug. 15.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. More than 13,000 people died in 2006 in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with a blood-alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, according to the National  Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The picture for motorcycle riders is particularly bleak; Forty-one percent of the 2,007 motorcycle riders who died in single-vehicle crashes in 2006 had BAC levels of .08 or higher, NHTSA said.

In light of these alarming statistics, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office is joining thousands of other law enforcement and highway safety agencies across the nation between Aug. 15 and Labor Day for the “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” crackdown on impaired driving.

“Make no mistake: our message is simple. If we catch you driving impaired you will be arrested, no exceptions or excuses,” said Sheriff Rex Coffey. “Driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state yet we continue to see far too many people suffer debilitating injuries or the loss of a loved one as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop and to help ensure that happens, we are dedicated to arresting impaired drivers wherever and whenever we find them.”

Drunk drivers risk not only killing themselves or someone else but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant. Violators face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance rates, attorney’s fees, time away from work and dozens of other expenses.

The national “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” impaired driving crackdown is a prevention program organized by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which focuses on combining high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness through advertising and publicity. This year’s effort is supported by $11 million in paid national advertising to help put everyone on notice that if they are caught driving impaired, they will be arrested. For more information visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org.