ALLEGAN, MI (WKZO-AM/FM) – We’re still a week and a half away from the calendar start of the Christmas/New Year season, but it’s never too early for those in brown, black or blue to be vigilant on roadway surveillance.
On Wednesday, the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” statewide enforcement effort got under way.
Extra patrols of Michigan State Police troopers, along with those from county and local law enforcement entities, will be watching for reckless and distracted driving through January 1st, but the major thrust of this campaign is getting impaired drivers off of the road, according to Allegan County Sheriff Frank Baker.
The initiative, funded by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning, through federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration dollars, will look to cut into numbers that indicated 41 percent of fatal crashes on state roads in 2023 involved alcohol and or drugs, and there have been 30 people who have lost their lives in the past five years during the holiday period; 13 of those were in driver-impaired crashes.
In addition to extra police patrols, the funding will also be directed towards media awareness campaigns.
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