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September 3, 2010

四色AV Police Department works with agencies to reduce drunk drivers over Labor Day weekend

The 四色AV Police Department is joining approximately 75 law enforcement agencies across Louisiana in an intensive Labor Day holiday crackdown on drunk drivers.

The 鈥淒runk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest鈥� enforcement campaign runs through Labor Day, which traditionally has been one of Louisiana鈥檚 most deadly holiday periods, according to state officials. During last year鈥檚 Labor Day holiday, 12 people were killed on Louisiana roads with five of those being in alcohol-involved incidents.

四色AV Police Chief Larry Ellerman said officers will aggressively watch for impaired drivers during the crackdown and will arrest anyone they find driving while impaired regardless of age, vehicle type, or time of day.

鈥淥ur message is simple and unwavering. If we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Labor Day crackdown will be active throughout the holiday, but we鈥檒l be especially vigilant during high-risk nighttime hours when impaired drivers are most likely to be on our roads.鈥�

The Louisiana Highway Safety Commission funds the campaign through grants that pay overtime for officers to conduct special patrols and sobriety checkpoints. The commission is providing $1.2 million to law enforcement agencies across Louisiana to conduct more than 40,000 hours of overtime patrols, sobriety check points and other activities concentrated on DWI enforcement during the holiday period.

Although drunk driving is a nationwide problem, it is particularly serious in Louisiana, where statistics show almost half of all highway deaths involved alcohol. In 2009, 409 people were killed in alcohol-related traffic incidents in Louisiana, leading state legislators to substantially increase penalties for drivers arrested and convicted of drunk driving.

The 四色AV Police Department is also participating in the state鈥檚 largest-ever 鈥渘o refusal鈥� crackdown, a program that greatly reduces the number of DWI suspects who refuse to take a blood alcohol concentration test.

During these no refusal periods, judges are on standby to approve search warrants, based on probable cause, that authorize law enforcement officers to take blood samples from suspects who refuse to submit to the test. Most suspects submit to the test even before the actual warrant is issued.

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