The Arkansas State Police will be taking part in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” awareness campaign starting Aug. 20. The campaign will run through Sept. 6.
State police, sheriff’s deputies, and police officers will be unified in the operation designed to arrest drunk drivers.
Lives lost in highway crashes nationally involving impaired drivers during 2019 was 10,142 — so says the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). On average more than 10,000 people were killed in drunk driving crashes each year from 2015-19.
“The statistics left behind from these deaths each year represent thousands of sad and troubling stories from the families of each victim,” said Colonel Bill Bryant, Director of the Arkansas State Police and Governor’s Highway Safety Representative. “That’s why law enforcement agencies in Arkansas are working together with NHTSA to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal, but also a matter of life and death for those who count on us to keep the highways safe by arresting drunk drivers.”
Here are some tips the State Police are asking people keep in mind to stay safe:
- If you plan on drinking, plan not to drive.
- Plan a safe way home before you leave. It’s never okay to drink and drive, even if the driver has consumed only one alcoholic beverage.
- Designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation to get to your destination safely.
- If you’ve been drinking, call a taxi or someone who is sober to drive you home.
- If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 9-1-1.
- If you know someone who is about to drive or operate a motorcycle or any other vehicle while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to their destination safely.
- Buckle up, always. Your seat belt is your best defense against the drunk driver.