Effort aims to keep motorists safe over Christmas season

Texarkana, Ark., Police Department will be working extra hours this holiday season to help keep motorists safe and look for impaired drivers.

Through Jan.1, the TAPD will partner with the Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in a special year-end "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" initiative. The effort aims to get intoxicated drivers off the streets and spread the word about the dangers of impaired driving.

This holiday season, drivers will notice an increase in law enforcement watching for impaired drivers. The holidays are a special time, full of excitement and endless festivities that often bring higher numbers of drunken drivers to the roads.

Drunken driving can have deadly, devastating consequences: 37,461 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the U.S. last year, and 28 percent (10,497) died in crashes where a driver had a blood alcohol concentration over the limit of .08.

Drunken drivers often serve jail time, lose their driver's licenses, are charged higher insurance rates, and pay dozens of other unanticipated expenses ranging from attorney fees, court costs, car towing and repairs, and lost wages due to time off from work. But the ultimate cost of drunken driving is causing a traffic crash that injures or kills.

Follow these tips to stay safe on the road this holiday season:

  • Remember that it is never okay to drive drunk. Even if you've had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation to get home safely.
  • If you see a drunken driver on the road, call 911.
  • Have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.

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