The University Police Department (UPD) is joining the nationwide campaign called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” From Aug. 15 to Sept. 4 the UPD is ramping up its effort to crackdown on drunk driving during the beginning of school and the Labor Day holiday.
“We will be conducting extra patrols and sobriety checkpoints in the evenings and early mornings during the campaign period, Aug. 15 through Sept. 4,” said Patrol Lieutenant Patrick Gipson of UPD.
The police expect their involvement in this campaign to be effective in keeping Southeastern and the surrounding community safe.
“If we prevent even one traffic crash, prevent even one family from being impacted by a tragic injury or loss of life due to impaired driving, we will consider that to be ‘effective,'” said Gipson.
In a recent press release, Interim Director of UPD Carmen Bray stated that there is one alcohol-impaired driving related fatality every 51 minutes in the United States. UPD hopes to decrease these statistics by getting impaired drivers off the road.
“Even one impaired driver is too many in any community,” said Gipson. “In the first week of the campaign, UPD has detected and arrested or assisted with the arrest of seven impaired drivers on or near campus.”
Research has proven that through the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, extra enforcement can reduce alcohol-impaired driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent.
Assistant Director of UPD Captain Mike McGill also stated in the press release, “We want to remind everyone that it is illegal to drive impaired, and we hope the campaign will remind people that if they plan on drinking, to never get behind the wheel.”
It is illegal in the United States to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 grams per deciliter. UPD emphasized that if anyone does choose to drive impaired, the police will be out in force watching and ready to take action.
According to UPD, violators may face jail time, loss of their licenses and steep financial consequences that include higher insurance rates, attorney fees, court costs, fines, lost time at work and the potential loss of their job.
Southeastern Peer Educators Educating Peers (PEEPS) and the Tangipahoa Reshaping Attitudes for Community Change (TRACC) Coalition are hosting a public forum on Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 12 p.m. to discuss the impact of impaired driving, its negative effect on the community and the legal and social consequences of impaired driving. The forum will be held either on campus or at the Tangipahoa Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council (TADAC) office in Hammond.  TRACC will make a public notification as soon as the location is determined.
For more information, visit the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign page at www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober.