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Arkansas State Police to start driving campaign Friday

(Courtesy of the Arkansas State Police.)

For many Arkansans, the Labor Day holiday is an extended weekend that includes backyard cookouts and celebrations enjoyed with friends and family.  Unfortunately, the holiday is often marred with tragedy and death caused by drunk drivers traveling across state roads and highways.

Starting August 15th and continuing through September 1st, state and local law enforcement officers will be aggressively targeting their patrols in search of drunk drivers.  The enforcement plan is part of a nationwide effort designed to stop drunk driving and save lives.  The Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign will pair increased public awareness with high visibility law enforcement, resulting in fewer drunk drivers getting behind the wheel of a vehicle endangering themselves and others.

Across the nation during calendar year 2012 there were 10,322 people killed in drunk-driving crashes.  Over the Labor Day weekend that same year, almost 40 percent of all traffic fatalities involved drunk driving.

“These grim facts should speak for themselves, but the message hasn’t gotten everyone’s attention yet,” said Colonel Stan Witt, Arkansas State Police Director and Governor’s Highway Safety Representative.  “That’s why the Arkansas State Police and local law enforcement will be joining the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign and will arrest anyone caught driving drunk.  There will be no tolerance, no excuses.”

During the calendar year 2012 there were 552 traffic fatalities on Arkansas roadways.  Twenty-six percent, or 143 of those fatalities, involved a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher.

“Drunk driving is totally preventable and inexcusable,” said Colonel Witt.  “We’re hopeful that Arkansas drivers will get the message and take some simple steps to prevent this kind of tragedy.”

The Arkansas State Police Highway Safety Office reminds drivers to plan ahead and designate a sober driver if they plan to consume alcohol.  Calling a friend or using a taxi or some form of public transportation can save lives.

For more information on the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, visit www.TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov or contact the Arkansas Highway Safety Office at (501) 618-8136. For more on Arkansas’ ongoing Toward Zero Deaths, One is Too Many campaign to eliminate preventable traffic fatalities, visit www.TZDarkansas.org.

Johnathan Reaves is the News Director for KASU Public Radio. As part of an Air Force Family, he moved to Arkansas from Minot, North Dakota in 1986. He was first bitten by the radio bug after he graduated from Gosnell High School in 1992. While working on his undergraduate degree, he worked at KOSE, a small 1,000 watt AM commercial station in Osceola, Arkansas. Upon graduation from Arkansas State University in 1996 with a degree in Radio-Television Broadcast News, he decided that he wanted to stay in radio news. He moved to Stuttgart, Arkansas and worked for East Arkansas Broadcasters as news director and was there for 16 years.