NORTHWEST ARKANSAS -- Numerous law enforcement agencies across northwest Arkansas will partner with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to stem drunken driving over Labor Day weekend.
The national campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, started Aug. 19 and runs through Sept. 5, according a news release. During the period police will "show zero tolerance" toward intoxicated drivers, increase patrols and implement sobriety checkpoints, the release said.
Police in Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers and the sheriff's offices in Benton and Washington counties will participate. Troop L of the Arkansas State Police, which serves Benton, Carroll, Madison and Washington counties, also will participate.
"People need to understand that drunk driving is not only deadly, but it is illegal," said Lt. Derek Wright, Springdale police spokesman.
According to the NHSTA, on average, over 10,000 people died each year in drunken driving-related crashes.
In 2014, 40 percent of the fatalities over Labor Day weekend involved intoxicated rivers -- the highest percentage over a five-year period, the agency said. Most of those crashes occurred in the evening and early morning hours.
While Gentry and other local departments may not be official participants in the program, they are on the lookout for drunk drivers and plan to step up patrols over the Labor Day weekend.
Keith Smith, police chief in Gentry, said his officers are always vigilant and on the lookout for intoxicated drivers. He said their effort would be stepped up over the holiday weekend for the safety of those on the highways and that his officers practice zero tolerance toward intoxicated drivers.
Smith indicated registering to be a part of the national campaign requires additional paperwork and time which his department could better use to be out patrolling and watching for unsafe drivers.
General News on 08/31/2016