'Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest' Crackdown Starts August 21, 2009
Major Enforcement Effort Seeks to Save Lives
DES MOINES, IA--(Marketwire - August 20, 2009) - Law enforcement throughout the state today
announced officers will be out in full force during the Labor Day holiday
period, beginning August 21. They will join thousands of other law
enforcement and highway safety agencies throughout the nation as they take
part in the Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest crackdown on
impaired driving. The enforcement blitz will last through the holiday
weekend.
Drunk driving is one of America's deadliest crimes. In 2007, nearly 13,000
people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator
with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.
The picture for motorcycle riders is particularly bleak. In fatal crashes
in 2007, a higher percentage of motorcycle riders (27 percent) had a blood
alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher than any other type of motor
vehicle driver.
"Make no mistake. Our message is simple. No matter what you drive -- a
passenger car, pickup, sport utility vehicle or motorcycle -- if you are
caught driving impaired, you will be arrested. No exceptions. No excuses,"
said Romell Cooks, Regional Administrator, NHTSA Region 7. "Officers will
be out in force to get more drunk drivers off the road -- and save lives
that might otherwise be lost.
"Driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state. Yet we
continue to see far a tragic number of people with debilitating injuries
and deaths as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for
human life must stop. To help ensure that happens, officers are dedicated
to arresting impaired drivers wherever and whenever we find them," said Ms.
Cooks.
The national Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. impaired driving
crackdown is a program organized by the U.S. Department of Transportation's
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that focuses on
combining high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness
through advertising and publicity.
This year's effort is supported by $13 million in paid-national advertising
to help put everyone on notice that if they are caught driving impaired,
they will be arrested.
For more information, visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org.