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Major
Enforcement Effort Seeks to Save Lives
Lawton, OK – Drunk
driving is one of America’s
deadliest crimes. In 2005, 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 operators is
particularly bleak. Forty-one percent of the 1,878 motorcycle operators who
died in single-vehicle crashes in 2005 had BAC levels of .08 or higher.
That is why The Lawton Police Department
announced today they will be joining with thousands of other law
enforcement and highway safety agencies across the nation from August 13
throughout the Labor Day holiday to take part in the Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. crackdown on
impaired driving.
“Make no mistake. Our message is
simple. No matter what you drive—a passenger car, pickup, sport utility
vehicle or motorcycle—if we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you.
No exceptions. No excuses,” said Deputy Chief James
Apple. We will be out in force conducting sobriety
checkpoints, saturation patrols and using undercover officers 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 too many
people suffer debilitating injuries and loss of their loved ones as a
result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must
stop. To help ensure that happens, the Lawton Police Department is dedicated to arresting
impaired drivers wherever and whenever we find them,” said Deputy Chief James Apple.
“Drunk driving is simply not worth
the risk. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the
trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can
be significant,” said Deputy Chief James Apple.
“Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher
insurance rates, attorney fees, time away from work, and dozens of other
expenses.
“So don’t take the chance.
Remember, if you are over the limit, you are under arrest.”
The national Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. impaired driving crackdown is a prevention 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
$11 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.
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