351 Arrested In End Of Summer Drunk Driving Crackdown
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - Authorities say stepped-up drunken driving patrols during the end of the summer led to hundreds of arrests across Michigan.
The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning says Monday that officers from police departments, sheriff's offices and state police posts arrested 351 drunken drivers and issued 2,630 seat belt and child restraint citations during the "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" crackdown.
The stepped up drunken driving and seat belt enforcement began Aug. 21 and ran through the Labor Day holiday weekend.
"To enhance safety and reduce traffic fatalities, Michigan law enforcement officers have zero tolerance for motorists who fail to wear a seat belt, and they are experts at finding drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol," said Michael L. Prince, Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) director, in a media release. "Motorists were warned to drive sober or get pulled over, and more than 300 drivers failed to heed that advice."
Of the 351 arrests for drunk driving, 57 drivers had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .17 percent or higher — including one driver stopped for not wearing a seat belt in Wayne County who had BAC of .21. A motorcyclist arrested for operating while intoxicated in Clinton County had 11 prior drunk driving arrests, officials said.
In addition to the OWI arrests, officers made 152 drug arrests and 41 felony arrests. According to preliminary reports, there were 13 traffic fatalities during the 2015 Labor Day holiday period. Three of those deaths involved alcohol and five vehicle occupants weren't buckled up.
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