Drive Sober Or Get Pulled Over campaign starts for holiday season

Law enforcement agencies across the state, in a unified effort to get impaired drivers off the roads this holiday season, have initiated the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, which kicked off yesterday, boosting efforts to educate and enforce Wisconsin’s impaired driving laws through New Year’s Day.

During last years December holiday season, there were 403 crashes involving impaired drivers in Wisconsin. Those crashes killed nine people and injured 169 others.

Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent Tim Carnahan said “we’re urging drivers to plan ahead before celebrating to keep Wisconsin’s roads safe,”. “We’re increasing efforts to keep impaired drivers off the road, but we need drivers to make responsible choices and consider others before getting behind the wheel.”

The Wisconsin State Patrol helps local law enforcement agencies obtain specialty training to detect impaired driving. More than 8,000 officers in Wisconsin are trained in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement, and nearly 400 have completed Drug Recognition Expert training, which is more than most states.

An Operating While Intoxicated conviction is estimated to cost around $10,000, including fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates and vehicle services. A driver can also lose their license and vehicle because of an OWI conviction.