Another enhanced statewide drunk driving enforcement operation gets underway today.
“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” goes from now through Mardi Gras, February 17.
“It’s federal funding going to our law enforcement agencies to fund overtime pay to look for impaired drivers,” says Greg Fischer with the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. “It is an important time for us to have overtime patrols and to have extra police and enforcement units available.”
Each state gets federal funding for four “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaigns a year — coinciding with the Labor Day and Christmas holiday periods, plus two other periods of each state’s choosing where the likelihood of drunk driving is higher.
In Louisiana, one of those periods is Carnival, which is traditionally one of the deadliest times to be on the roads.
“Over the past five years, we’ve had 32 deaths across the state during this time,” says Fischer, “and we’ve had almost another 400 crashes that involved a serious injury and (an) impaired driver.”
Fischer says with so many options for you to get home safely, there is simply no excuse for you to ever get behind the wheel after you’ve had too much to drink.
“(You can do) rideshares, they’re still the traditional taxi available, (and) there’s also a designated driver option.”