Hundreds of thousands killed each year by drunk drivers
By Daily Press staff
Local police will be out in full force beginning today to crack down on drunk drivers through the holidays.
The campaign against drunk drivers will run until Jan. 4 with saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints throughout Santa Monica. The first sobriety checkpoint will be on Saturday after 8 p.m. in the 700 block of Wilshire Boulevard.
With more people expected to travel on America’s highways during the extended holiday season, it could be one of the deadliest periods ever for impaired driving fatalities, police say.
As part of a national campaign, the SMPD will work with the California Highway Patrol to get drunk drivers off of the roadway this holiday season.
“There will be no warnings,” said SMPD Chief James T. Butts Jr. “Our message is simple, you drink and drive, you lose. Violators can lose their licenses, time from their jobs, and lose money in high fines and court costs, as well as possibly face imprisonment for repeat offenses, assault and vehicular manslaughter.
After a decade of gradual success, fatalities in alcohol-related crashes have not significantly improved nationally in the last three years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated that alcohol-related fatalities rose slightly from 17,000 in 2001 to 17,419 in 2002. An estimated 258,000 people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present — an average of one person injured about every two minutes.
Studies show that the majority of Americans consider drunk driving one of the nation’s most important social issues, police said. Nearly 97 of Americans view drunk driving as a major threat to the community. As a result, the majority of Americans support increased use of enforcement efforts like saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints. Also, two-thirds of Americans endorse stricter and more severe penalties against drunk drivers, police said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 19, 2003. Read the original PDF.