Northwest Iowa — Several northwest Iowa law enforcement departments are participating in a national effort to help stop impaired driving during the holiday season.
The Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau tells us that now through January 1st, 2021, motorists will see an increased presence of law enforcement as part of this campaign.
Iowa law enforcement officers across the state and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (or NHTSA) will be removing impaired drivers from the roads and helping to save lives.
Iowa State Patrol Trooper Kevin Krull says this season is known for being the deadliest season when it comes to impaired driving.
(as said:) “Well, this is going to revert back to our side with us campaign where we’re looking for the seatbelts, the impaired driving, the distracted driving, the excessive speed, which have always been a problem for us. And these are the things that we find causes the most fatalities in our crashes. So we’re going to be out there stepping up our enforcement and trying to get people to pay attention to what’s going on with those violations.”
Krull says that as you head out to holiday festivities, remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.
According to the NHTSA, 10,511 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2018. On average, more than 10,000 people were killed each year from 2014 to 2018 — one person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 50 minutes in 2018.
Krull gives us advice on both how to stay safe on the roads and how to keep from meeting a trooper by accident.
(as said:) “Well number one — keep an eye on the weather because we don’t know what the weather’s going to do for us in the upcoming weeks as far as road conditions. We’ve been really fortunate to have some good driving conditions, but we need to pay attention to the speed limits obey the laws, and if you’re going to choose to drink and drive you’re going to run the risk of finding yourself in a bad situation. So do the smart thing and get the designated driver. Just be smart about it get the designated driver, plan ahead, and while you’re out celebrating make sure everybody’s got a reason to celebrate and have that happy time and get home safely.”
For the designated driver, law enforcement officers are asking them to take the role seriously and do not partake in alcohol or any other drugs.
Officers remind us that not only can an OWI cost you your license and $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, repairs, and lost time at work, it could also cost you or someone else their life.
Krull says they have some slogans to help you remember:
“Drive sober or get pulled over,” to drive home the point about drinking and driving, “Click it or ticket,” to push the wearing of seatbelts, and “Buzzed driving is drunk driving,” to remind people that alcohol impairs you faster than people think.
