Over The Limit? Under Arrest!
For two weeks, Maine has joined its fellow states by increasing law enforcement over the Labor Day holiday. The extra on duty attention is the latest attempt to curb drinking and driving, which remains one of America’s deadliest driving offenses. In 2008, nearly 12,000 people died in highway accidents involving drivers with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit.
The national campaign, known as "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”, runs from August 21st through September 7th and is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The campaign involves all fifty states and includes sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, as well as a $13 million national media campaign supplemented by state-funded advertising. This year, specific focus is being put on women, as drunk driving incidents for females were up nearly five percent nationwide in 2008.
In Maine, the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety has partnered with more than 50 local police departments, 11 county sheriffs, and Maine State Police, sharing over $300,000 in federal money to fund additional patrols. Roadblocks and OUI patrols have been and will continue to be setup throughout the Labor Day holiday, and television and radio commercials are warning drivers that they will be arrested if they drink and drive. In total, over $50 million will be dispersed throughout the U.S. in an attempt to stop drinking and driving.
Currently, all fifty states have established a threshold of .08 as the legal blood alcohol limit to drive. However, drunk driving remains fatal. The good news is that if people were to take a few preparatory actions, dire circumstances could be avoided.
The following are some tips to help keep you out of trouble with the law, and most importantly, safe:
- Plan ahead. If you are going to drink alcohol with friends, designate a sober driver before going out and give that person your keys.
- If you didn’t plan ahead and you’re impaired, call a taxi, use public transportation, or call a sober friend or family member to get you home safely.
- Promptly report drunk drivers that you see on the road to law enforcement. By doing so you may be saving their life as well as your own.
- Wear your seat belt while in a car or a helmet and protective gear when on a motorcycle as these are your best defenses against an impaired driver.
- If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.
Drinking and driving is a serious offense that too often leads to serious and fatal results. Don’t be a victim or worse yet a statistic. Instead, take a cue from the crackdown and help make drinking and driving a thing of the past.
For more information on the two-week national crackdown on drinking and driving, please visit: www.stopimpaireddriving.org.
