Area law enforcement officers will crack down on drunken driving this holiday season as part of the nationwide "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" enforcement effort.
The campaign will continue through Jan. 1, according to a news release.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration reported that 32,367 people were killed in motor vehicle accidents across the nation in 2011, 9,878, or 31 percent, occurred in drunken driving-related crashes. Nationally, in the Decembers from 2007 to 2011, there were 4,169 people killed in crashes that involved drivers with blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams per deciliter or higher.
In December 2012, 830 people were killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher; 26 of those deaths occurred on Christmas Day.
Drunken drivers can face jail time, the loss of their driver's license, higher insurance rates, and dozens of other expenses ranging from attorneys' fees and court costs to lost wages due to time off from work.
NW News on 12/12/2014