Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. That’s the message a federally funded drunk driving enforcement campaign and Michigan law enforcement officers are making very clear this Labor Day weekend.

Stepped up drunk driving patrols began Aug. 16 and will continue through the heavily traveled Labor Day weekend in 26 Michigan counties. In 2011, law enforcement officers across the state arrested 230 people for drunk driving during a similar enforcement effort in late August and early September.

“More people died in alcohol-involved crashes in August than in any other month in 2011, and four people died in crashes involving alcohol during last year’s Labor Day weekend,” said Michael L. Prince, director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning. “Michigan law enforcement officers are experts at catching drunk drivers. They know all the tricks and have heard all the excuses. If you drive drunk you will be arrested, so make the smart decision and find a safe and sober ride home.”

While the number of alcohol-involved fatalities has continued to decline, crashes involving alcohol are eight times more likely to be fatal than those not involving alcohol. Last year, 319 people were killed in impaired driving crashes.

Grant-funded counties include Allegan, Bay, Berrien, Calhoun, Chippewa, Delta, Genesee, Grand Traverse, Houghton, Ingham, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Kent, Livingston, Macomb, Marquette, Monroe, Muskegon, Oakland, Ottawa, Saginaw, St. Clair, Van Buren, Washtenaw, Wayne and Wexford.

For a listing of planned enforcement times, dates and locations, visit www.michigan.gov/ohsp.

 

 

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