Law Enforcement Cracks Down on Drunk Drivers

Police announced they will begin a drunk driving crackdown this month that involves new advertising and promised arrests to get the message across to those that drink and drive.

According to the government, 39 percent of all traffic accident deaths involve alcohol consumption and the rate of alcohol-related fatalities has barely budged in the last 10 years.

A new $11 million advertising campaign, which targets 21-34 year old male drivers (highest rate of drivers involved in fatal drunk driving accidents) depict police pulling over men in cars filled with liquor, beer, or wine, with the captions: Make no mistake: You will get caught and you will be arrested. Drunk Driving: Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”

Furthermore, law enforcement plans to increase its searches for drunk drivers throughout the month of September, particularly during Labor Day weekend. Police will set up more sobriety checkpoints as well as additional patrols that target festivals, sporting events, and concerts where people may be consuming more alcohol.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 11,000 estimated law enforcement agencies will be part of the patrols this month.

However, many critics of the crackdown argue that such tactics will fail to catch repeat drunk driving offenders and problem drinkers since they all know where the roadblocks are. Instead, the crackdown will victimize those who drink a glass of wine with dinner and fall into the trap.

“It scares responsible adults who had a drink prior to driving,” said John Doyle, the executive director of the American Beverage Institute that represents restaurants.

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