Above / Help keep roads safe every day and during the holiday party season. Remember! “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
Naperville Police are looking for drunk drivers this holiday season as part of a special year-end Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement campaign.
“Beginning December 16 (2016) and continuing into the New Year, our officers are stepping-up enforcement to watch for anyone who is driving impaired, distracted or without a seat belt,” said Naperville Police Sgt. Derek Zook. “We are helping Illinois drive zero fatalities to reality, so we will have zero tolerance for drunk and drug-impaired driving this holiday season.”
Too often, drivers take to the roads after drinking at holiday celebrations. Data shows the decision to drive while impaired can have serious and sometimes deadly consequences.
In 2015, 35,092 people in the United States were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes, and 29 percent (10,265) died in crashes where the driver had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over the limit of .08.
“This ought to be the ‘most wonderful time of the year,’ so we are doing whatever it takes to help save lives by keeping our roads safe,” Sgt. Zook said. “If you choose to drive impaired, you not only risk your safety and that of others, but you will also face serious legal consequences.”
Drunk or drug-impaired driving offenders often serve jail time, lose their driver’s license, are charged higher insurance rates, and pay dozens of other unanticipated expenses ranging from attorney fees, court costs, car towing and repairs, and lost wages due to time off work. But the ultimate cost of impaired driving is causing a traffic crash that results in injury or death.
Tips to stay safe on the road this holiday season
If you will be drinking, plan on not driving. Arrange for a safe ride home or designate a sober driver before you start the party.
If you become intoxicated or drug-impaired, do not drive for any reason. Call a taxi, phone a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
If someone you know has been drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel. Take their keys, take them home or help them arrange a safe way home.
If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact your local law enforcement. Your actions could help save someone’s life.
Buckle your seat belt, regardless of where you are seated. By law, occupants in all seating positions must wear a seat belt.
Remember, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.
Celebrate safely.
News item submitted by Commander Jason Arres, Office of Professional Standards, Public Information Officer, for the Naperville Police Department.
