The 2011 National Impaired Driving Crackdown is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) ongoing program to reduce the number of impaired driving-related fatalities.
According to NHTSA data, 10,839 people were killed in U. S. motor vehicle crashes in 2009. Alcohol-impaired fatalities accounted for 32 percent of all motor vehicle crash fatalities during 2009, or an average of one fatality every 48 minutes. Nearly half of these tragic deaths occurred between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. Additionally, according to the National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use, roughly one in six nighttime, week-end drivers tested positive for illegal or prescription drugs.
“Sadly, many people clearly do not understand that impaired driving, whether under the influence of alcohol or drugs—even prescription drugs—is no accident, nor is it a victimless crime,” said Sgt. Tim Cornelius of the CCSO Safety and Traffic Enforcement Bureau. “The message we want to send to drivers in Collier County is simple: If you are caught driving while impaired, you will be arrested. No exceptions.”
CCSO joins nearly 10,000 other law enforcement agencies across the nation in support of this initiative. Special enforcement operations will be conducted throughout the county during this period including sobriety checkpoints and roving saturation patrols or “wolf packs”.
“If you go out, designate a sober driver; even if you beat the odds and manage to walk away from a crash, driving impaired is simply not worth the consequences,” Sgt. Cornelius said.
