MICHIGAN — Law enforcement agencies throughout Michigan will be participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign before and during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
There will be increased patrols on the roads from Dec. 17 through Jan. 1, with zero tolerance for those who drive impaired, a news release from Michigan State Police said Friday.
More than 9,000 alcohol-involved crashes happened in Michigan throughout 2020, with 326 alcohol-involved fatalities statewide, according to MSP.
“Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after you’ve been drinking or taken drugs endangers you, your passengers and everyone else on the road,” said Michael L. Prince, Office of Highway Safety Planning director. “Fatalities on our roadways are preventable and drivers must remember that driving impaired by any substance is deadly, illegal and selfish behavior.”
Between 2016-2020, during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday periods, 84 people were killed in traffic crashes in Michigan, including 34 people who died in alcohol-related crashes.
Over the 2020 holiday period, 15 people died in crashes on Michigan roads, law enforcement officials said.
President Joe Biden has proclaimed December as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month to remember those who lost their lives because of impaired driving and to remind people that preventing impaired driving deaths and injuries is every driver’s responsibility.
The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign is supported with federal traffic safety funds provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and coordinated by the OHSP.
