MSP Prepares For Statewide Drunk Driving Crackdown
DETROIT (WWJ) - State police are sending a message to people who are thinking about getting behind the wheel after they've been drinking: We're coming after you.
Law enforcement agencies across the state will work stepped up drunk driving patrols July 1-10, which will include the heavily traveled July 4th weekend.
You'll also notice an increase of federally funded commercials warning that a drunk driving arrest can cost people their independence over the Independence Day weekend.
The ads, which feature a young man dragging a keg around his ankle, target men aged 21 to 34, the group most likely to drive drunk.
According to the Office of Highway Safety Planning, while the focus of this effort is drivers under the influence of alcohol, officers will be arresting any impaired driver and removing not only drunk drivers from the roadway, but also those under the influence of drugs.
In 2009, drugs accounted for an additional 83 injuries and 89 crashes compared to 2008. In 2010, drug-involved fatalities increased by 29 percent with 153 motorists killed in crashes involving drugs. Some of that increase can be attributed to expanded testing requests.
In 2010, 357 people died in alcohol and/or drug-related crashes including two during the July 4th holiday period.
