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INDIANAPOLIS – The Marion County Traffic Safety Partnership announced Wed. its participation in the national and statewide 2016 Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement mobilization occurring Aug. 12 through Sept. 5. Officers will join more than 250 state and local law enforcement agencies and thousands more across the country to conduct high-visibility patrols encouraging drivers against drinking and driving.
“Ensuring drivers and their passengers are safe on the road is one of our key priorities,” Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) Capt. Greg Bieberich said. “This campaign allows us the opportunity to remind everyone behind the wheel that driving intoxicated is against the law. We will be out in full patrol and chances are if you drive impaired, we will pull you over.”
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is an annual enforcement effort supported by federal funding allocated to the Marion County Traffic Safety Partnership from the Traffic Safety division of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). Dozens of officers will work overtime to conduct sobriety patrols and checkpoints around the clock. According to ICJI, in 2015 there were 4,828 alcohol-impaired collisions in Indiana, resulting in 92 fatalities. This is a 26.5 percent decrease in the number of alcohol-impaired collisions, and a 9 percent decrease in resulting fatalities, from 2014.
“While this decrease in alcohol-impaired collisions and fatalities means we’re on the right track, there’s still room for improvement” ICJI Dir. Dave Murtaugh said. “In an effort to ensure our roads are safe at every turn, we will continue to increase Indiana’s education and enforcement on impaired driving.”
Indiana law enforcement agencies have been actively involved in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign for more than 20 years.
For more information on the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement mobilization campaign, please visit: www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober/.
