Extra patrols will be out to deter impaired driving

The holiday season is a time of celebration, but if that celebration includes alcohol, law enforcement agents across the state have a spot in jail ready for those that decide to drink and drive.
The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over national campaign continues through Jan. 1. During this time, “Police officers, sheriffs’ deputies and Louisiana State Police will have extra personnel on the road to catch and arrest impaired drivers during the holidays,” Louisiana Highway Safety Comm-ission Executive Director Lisa Freeman said in a news release.
The campaign is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Admin-istration, through the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.
“Too many innocent people have been killed, and too many families have been torn apart by impaired driving,” Freeman said.
During the 2018 Christmas holiday in Louisiana, 16 people were killed in highway crashes, and 12 of those fatalities were alcohol-related, according to the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation at LSU. Another 84 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes in Louisiana during the same holiday period, according to CARTS. On the national level, NHTSA reported that 285 people were killed in drunk-driving related crashes during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in 2018.
People who drive after taking drugs - even legally prescribed prescription drugs - also must be fully aware of the side effects the drugs may have on their judgment, motor skills and mental alertness, Freeman said. “We are seeing that more and more vehicle crashes are the result of drugged driving in Louisiana. Law enforcement officers can quickly spot a drugged driver, and those drivers also will be arrested and jailed.”
Freeman offered these tips for holiday driving:
—It is never okay to drink and drive. Just one alcoholic beverage can impair a driver.
—If you take prescription medication, you need to know how it affects your ability to safely operate a vehicle. Even small amounts of prescription or over the counter drugs can impair a driver.
—Designate a sober driver or be a hero and designate yourself as the sober driver.
—If a friend is impaired, get them a ride home with a cab or ride-share service.
—If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact your local law enforcement agency.
Freeman emphasized that the purpose behind Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over “is to stress that there are consequences to actions. If Louisiana law enforcement agents spot an impaired driver, that driver will be taken off the road. This necessary response by law enforcement prevents the more serious consequence of an impaired driver causing a crash that hurts or kills someone.”