Maryland Police Chiefs Geared Up For Impaired Driving Enforcement
Busy Summer Holiday Warrants Increased Enforcement Operations
July 4, 2009- With the first official holiday of the summer approaching, the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association (MCPA) is pleased to join with the Maryland Highway Safety Office, along with state and local law enforcement agencies, to support Maryland’s initiative to reduce impaired driving fatalities. Nearly every police chief throughout the state has joined in the effort to decrease deaths and injuries caused by the reckless behavior of impaired drivers. Through increased and targeted drunk driving saturation patrols, and sobriety checkpoints throughout the Fourth of July weekend, agencies aim to arrest anyone who drives under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
Alcohol continues to be a major factor in fatal crashes on the Fourth of July holiday. In 2007, 34 percent of all drivers involved in traffic-related crashes during the Fourth of July holiday had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. Impaired driving during summer months, and especially on holidays, carries a higher frequency of alcohol-related crash fatalities. With the scorching summer temperatures comes a plethora of outdoor activities and celebrations, and too often people will test their freedoms and get behind the wheel.
Police chiefs and their respective agencies have devised a comprehensive approach in an effort to reduce impaired driving this Fourth of July weekend. Throughout the state of Maryland, drivers will witness an intensive amount of law enforcement officials initiating sobriety checkpoints and a less visible but highly effective enforcement strategy on increased patrols vehicles actively searching for drunk drivers in areas that have traditionally experienced high numbers of drunk driving arrests or crashes. Police chiefs stress the importance that whether you drive a car, truck or motorcycle, if you are caught driving impaired, there will be repercussions. Strict enforcement of impaired driving laws are necessary as alcohol-impaired-driving is one of America's most often committed and deadliest crimes. In 2007, 12,988 people were killed in the U.S. highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with an illegal BAC of .08 or higher - 32 percent of total traffic fatalities for the year.
“Police chiefs and their agencies throughout Maryland are looking forward to a successful Fourth of July campaign to target and apprehend impaired drivers,” said President of the MCPA and Chief of the Ocean City Police Department Bernadette DiPino. “Our law enforcement officers understand the importance of protecting the public on this busy holiday and will be working vigorously to apprehend and remove impaired drivers from Maryland roads.”
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Fourth of July holiday is one of the deadliest for alcohol-related car crashes. Statistics show that on average almost 51 percent of all fatal crashes on the Fourth of July are caused by impaired driving. There were 72 alcohol-related crashes in Maryland during the 2007 Fourth of July holiday period, and of those crashes, two were fatal. Any loss of life is completely unacceptable, particularly when these deaths are preventable. Law enforcement patrols will be working diligently to reduce these numbers, along with the number of impaired driving related-injury crashes, which totaled a staggering 24 for the Fourth of July holiday in 2007.
Contact: Chief Bernadette DiPino, President
Maryland Chiefs of Police Association
410-723-6601
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The Maryland Chiefs of Police Association is an alliance of executive law enforcement officers from State, Local, and Federal Agencies dedicated to leading and supporting the efforts of police chiefs and sworn law enforcement executives in advancing the science and art of police services.
Posted by Plevy at July 1, 2009 03:35 PM