PennDOT, state police and local police across Pennsylvania will be cracking down on impaired driving throughout the Labor Day holiday weekend.
Statewide, the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” effort will focus on drivers impaired by alcohol and an increasing number of drug-impaired motorists.
According to PennDOT, statewide there were 125 alcohol-related crashes, eight fatalities and 30 drug-related crashes during last year’s Labor Day holiday weekend. PennDot adds there were 23 alcohol-related crashes in Centre County.
The Centre County Alcohol Task Force will be conducting roving DUI patrols this weekend and through the fall. The task force is made up of officers from Ferguson Twp., Patton Twp. and State College Borough. Spring Twp., Bellefonte and the Centre County Sheriff’s office are also involved.
The number of DUI arrests have been fairly consistent over the past few years according to Ferguson Twp. Police Sgt. Ryan Hendrick. The task force made 102 arrests during the year of 2010, 105 arrests in 2011 and 78 arrests in 2012. Those numbers do not include arrests by police on routine patrol.
According to Sgt. Hendrick the task force has two main goals; deterrence and arrest. And it appears efforts to curb drunk driving have made an impact. Hendrick says, “Many more people are using public transportation such as CATA and taxi’s than ten years ago. It appears residents and students alike understand that the cost to themselves and the community, of driving impaired, is substantial and are buying into getting a safe ride home.“
Still, Sgt. Hendrick says anytime someone gets behind the wheel while impaired there is a serious problem. “We would love to be able educate and stop all persons from driving impaired but we know that is an unrealistic goal,” he says.
Funding for the Centre County Alcohol Task Force comes from $4.2 million in federal funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That money is distributed statewide by PennDot.
Click HERE to visit PennDot’s traffic safety information center.
