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Vermont Department of Public Safety
Governor’s Highway Safety Program
103 South Main Street
Waterbury., Vt. 05671
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 15, 2014
CONTACT: Tom Fields, Law Enforcement Liaison
1-802-375-5913
John Filipek, Law Enforcement Liaison
1-802-324-6240
Vermont Participates in NHTSA “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” Campaign
Waterbury, Vt. Law enforcement agencies throughout the state are participating in an intensive cooperative enforcement effort to reduce impaired driving and will continue to do so through the close of the Labor Day weekend. These efforts are supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and are part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. In addition to patrols by municipal agencies, sheriff’s departments, Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles and Constables, the Vermont State Police Combined Accident Reduction Effort (C.A.R.E.) program will be adding to the enforcement presence through the Labor Day weekend.
In addition, many officers have received specialized training in ARIDE (Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement). A select few officers have received extensive training and are certified nationally as DRE (Drug Recognition Experts) as the growing problem with impaired driving cases involve many substances besides alcohol. These officers will be part of the team on our roadways during this High Visibility Enforcement campaign.
In Vermont nearly half of our serious injury and fatal crashes involve impaired drivers. So far this year, twenty-six (26) people have lost their lives on Vermont highways. Many more people sustained life changing serious injuries as a result of impaired operation. Many of these were victims of impaired operation by others.
In an effort to help eliminate tragedies, Vermont police officers will be using Vermont’s crash and impaired driving data to identify locations for sobriety and safety checkpoints. These checkpoints will focus on these “high risk” areas and operate during high crash timeframes to maximize their effectiveness. These high visibility patrols and checkpoints will be conducted during the day and night.
There is no good reason to drive if you are impaired to any degree. You, your family and others on the roadways can be a victim because of poor choices of a few.