The Tennessee Department of Safety (TDOS) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) announced today it will be stepping up its enforcement crackdown as part of National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month. In an effort to find and remove impaired drivers from Tennessee roadways, State Troopers are conducting saturation patrols and holding more than 100 driver license and sobriety checkpoints now through the New Year’s holiday extended weekend. Local law enforcement assisted in the checkpoints last weekend in Cannon County.
The holiday season is one of the deadliest and most dangerous times of the year due to an increase in impaired driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in December 2007, 992 people were killed in crashes that involved a drunk driver with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.
During the 2007 Christmas holiday, seven people were killed in traffic crashes on Tennessee roadways. This represents one death every 14 hours and 34 minutes. Alcohol was involved in nearly 30 percent of those crashes and four of the seven people killed were not wearing safety restraints.
The 2008 Christmas holiday period begins Wednesday, December 24, at 6:00 p.m., and runs through Sunday, December 28, at 11:59 p.m.
Seventeen people lost their lives in alcohol-related crashes on Tennessee roadways last December. Overall traffic fatalities declined by six percent last year, and that trend is continuing in 2008. As of December 21, 2008, there have been 212 fewer fatal crashes than the same time period in 2007.
Designating a sober driver and not letting friends drive drunk are just two of several simple steps to help avoid a tragic crash or an arrest for impaired driving.
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