Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: Statewide Safe-Driving Initiative
SOMERS, Wis. – During the holiday season, social gatherings with family and friends appear on everyone’s calendar. Each year, however, the good times at these events have the potential to become devastating times for families and communities.
To help keep the upcoming holiday season safe on our roadways, officers from the UW Parkside Police and Public Safety Department are part of the state-wide traffic safety Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign from Dec 18 to Jan 1. UW-Parkside police officers and officers across the state will be patrolling in greater numbers, and for longer hours, to keep impaired drivers off the road and to enforce the safety-belt law.
While drunken driving remains a concern, Wisconsin and many states have seen an increase in drugged drivers-people whose ability to safely operate a motor vehicle is compromised by legal medications (prescriptions or over the counter) and illegal drugs (heroin, marijuana etc.). Drunken and drugged driving is 100 percent preventable but is ignored as drivers make dangerous decisions after ingesting these substances and getting behind the wheel impaired.
The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign and other traffic safety campaigns are working to save lives, and prevent injuries. In 2019 there were 23,803 OWI convictions with 6,058 alcohol-related crashes that injured 2,918 people and resulted in 140 deaths. Based on those numbers, someone is injured or killed in about every three hours in an alcohol-related crash. Our hope this holiday season is that everyone buckles up, drives sober, and acts responsibly during the fun and festive times.
For those who choose not to, extra law enforcement means a greater chance of getting caught. Please buckle up and act responsibly during the holiday season; help UW-Parkside law enforcement officers and their colleagues across the state reach their ultimate goal of zero preventable traffic deaths in Wisconsin. Choose a sober designated driver before you start drinking, or arrange for a ride home.
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Media Contact
Chris Moeller
UW Parkside Police
900 Wood Road
Kenosha, WI 53141
(262) 595-2132