West Virginia Drivers are Urged to Drive Sober, or Get Pulled Over.
As the Labor Day Holiday approaches, this means family activities, fun, and various festivities will be happening around the state; it also means there will be an increase in impaired driving and impaired driving related fatalities. In an effort to reduce impaired driving and related fatalities, Law Enforcement across the state will be stepping up patrols.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), during the 2014 Labor Day holiday period, 83 percent of drunk-driving crash fatalities occurred between 6:00 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., as compared to half of all drunk-driving crash fatalities throughout the rest of that year between these same hours.
To help reduce these tragic deaths in West Virginia, Federal Grant funds from the Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) will be used to pay law enforcement officers overtime to conduct impaired-driving saturation patrols and checkpoints outside their regular working hours.
Now through September 5th, law enforcement officers in West Virginia will be participating in these increased patrols and conducting sobriety checkpoints throughout August and into September. So far, in 2016, more than 5,400 DUI arrests have been made, and in 2015, a total of 9,102 DUI arrests were made over the course of the year.
The average alcohol-impaired DUI offender in West Virginia has a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .15, which is almost twice the BAC legal limit of .08.
West Virginia laws require all impaired-driving offenders with a BAC over the legal limit to serve jail time and pay required fines. Additionally, DUI offenders must serve a minimum license revocation period and complete a prescribed DUI Safety and Treatment Program through the West Virginia Bureau for Behavioral Health in order to have their driving privileges reinstated. Alcohol-impaired DUI offenders may also be required to participate in the Alcohol Test and Lock Program, commonly known as Interlock.
For more information on the consequences of impaired driving, visit dmv.wv.gov/ghsp or call 304-926-2509.
Keeping impaired drivers off the road is essential in keeping West Virginia roadways safe, and it’s is one of the primary goals of the GHSP. In addition to community education efforts and high visibility law enforcement activities, the GHSP has launched a free mobile app for both Apple and Android mobile devices called “Driver Sober West Virginia”. The application has features that allow you to report a drunk driver, find a sober ride, and even educate yourself on laws and information about the cost of a DUI. More information on the mobile app is available at http://www.DriveSoberWV.com.
