Labor Day Crackdown Puts Drunk Drivers On Notice: Drive Drunk, Be Arrested

MADD Thanks Law Enforcement Leadership for Protecting Public

WASHINGTON and DALLAS, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today's nationwide campaign launch of "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest." involves thousands of law enforcement agencies conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols through Labor Day weekend. By saving more lives and preventing more injuries, this Labor Day Crackdown intends to lock in and build on the momentum law enforcement has made in recent years toward reducing drunk driving crashes.

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Drunk driving fatalities declined by 1,268 from 13,041 in 2007 to 11,773 in 2008, a 9.7 percent decrease according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).This 2009 high-visibility law enforcement effort is led by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in coordination with the Governors Highway Safety Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Increased law enforcement will focus on saving lives during this crackdown, when travel time and drunk driving fatalities and injuries increase. National TV and radio advertising will warn motorists that if they drive drunk, they will be arrested. The intent is not to arrest drivers, but to prevent drunk driving tragedies through highly visible law enforcement demonstrating that drunk driving will not be tolerated.

"The drop in drunk driving fatalities is great news. But we must eliminate drunk driving altogether," says MADD National President Laura Dean-Mooney. "New York's recent Taconic Parkway tragedy is a hideous example of the atrocious consequences of drunk driving and child endangerment. We need the public's support during this Labor Day Crackdown, just as we need grassroots support year-round for MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving," says Dean-Mooney. "To eliminate drunk driving through increased enforcement and ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers, we need supporters to contact legislators in support of interlocks that stop drunk drivers from continuing to violate the law."

Deterring drunk drivers is a key element of MADD's Campaign. During 2008, eight states required ignition interlocks for all drunk driving offenders. New Mexico, the first state to mandate interlocks for all drunk driving convictions, has reduced drunk driving fatalities by 35 percent since its 2005 law became effective. Eleven states now mandate interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers (New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Illinois, Washington, Colorado, Nebraska, Alaska, Utah, Arkansas and Hawaii). Eight additional states require interlocks for drivers with BACs of .15 or higher. Three states don't have interlock laws, and twenty-one of the 28 remaining states have discretionary laws which are not proven effective.

Every person killed in a drunk driving crash represents someone's loved one. Dean-Mooney knows this first-hand. Her husband, Mike Dean, was killed on a Texas highway In November 1991 by a drunk whose .34 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeded the illegal drunk driving level four times. She instantly became a widow and single mother of their 8-month-old-daughter.

MADD's Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving includes support for high visibility law enforcement. Highly publicized and frequent, highly visible sobriety checkpoints reduce alcohol-related crashes and fatalities by up to 24 percent (Transportation and Research Board 2005). Passage of ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers is an integral part of MADD's Campaign.

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