New Year’s Eve is just around the corner and that means plenty of folks will be imbibing alcohol to ring in the new year. What police are hoping to avoid is those same folks hitting the roads after a night out on the town.
Jacob Pucheu, Public Information Officer with Louisiana State Police Troop B, spoke to Tommy Tucker on WWL and emphasized that drunk driving enforcement is always a priority. “We’re always out there even when it’s not a holiday weekend. We’re always looking for hazardous violations and more often than not, those hazardous violations are someone behind the wheel driving impaired,” Pucheu says.
That said, he recognizes the added danger of impaired driving on a holiday like New Year’s Eve and says officers are at the ready. “We do know, unfortunately, that with it being New Year’s and people celebrating … some of them don’t make good decisions and end up getting behind the wheel after they’ve had too much to drink,” adds Pucheu.
In a city like New Orleans, which is known for its nightlife, plenty of residents may think they’re “just buzzed” and okay to get behind the wheel. It’s exactly that type of thinking that law enforcement is trying to combat according to Pucheu. “Buzzed driving is drunk driving. You’ve heard that slogan. We also say very often that if you feel different, you will drive different. You need a good reaction time and the ability to focus and pay attention while driving.
Alcohol and drugs impair all of those motor functions you need to safely drive your vehicle,” emphasizes Pucheu. “Your delayed reaction time when you’re impaired increases that stopping distance and it will take you much longer than you might expect to actually brake if you encounter a hazard or another vehicle in the road,” he adds.
While wary drivers may be frustrated by the added law enforcement on Louisiana roadways, Pucheu is quick to note that safety is the utmost concern for law enforcement and is at the heart of these stops. “Uber, Lyft, and all sorts of ride share services are available to you now. People often complain about how expensive some of the surcharges can get for those services, but it’s not as expensive as even a basic DUI would be. That’s not even taking into account what if you seriously injured or killed someone else or yourself. It’s a ripple effect that takes a toll on everyone,” Pucheu goes on to say.