LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — Law enforcement from all across Michigan will begin stepping up enforcement and messaging, for what authorities call one of the deadliest times of the year.
The yearly impaired driving enforcement campaign known as ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ starts today – and will last through the Labor Day holiday.
Katie Bower, the Director of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, said it’s important to have responsible fun for upcoming celebrations.
“Driving impaired- it not only effects the driver but also effects everybody else on the road,” Bower said.
According to Bower, impaired driving crashes and fatalities increase in the summer months, and it gets even worse during the last three weeks in August.
Statistics show from 2018 to 2022, 40 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes over the Labor Day holiday weekend in Michigan. In those crashes, one-third of the drivers killed were alcohol-impaired.
“Unfortunately, sometimes it takes an incident to hit close to home for somebody to really realize how important it is; and so, our messaging out there is to try to get people to understand that they’re making a choice when they’re driving impaired,” Bower said.
The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign runs through Sep. 4.
