[Press Release] : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Columbia Police Department Cracking Down On Impaired Drivers During March 9 through March 17, 2015

[Press Releases]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Officer Nathan Turner
D.W.I. Enforcement Unit
(573) 441-5467
ndturner at gocolumbiamo.com

Sergeant Curtis Perkins
 Traffic Unit Supervisor
(573)874-6336
csperkin at gocolumbiamo.com

Officer Latisha Stroer, Public Information Officer
Columbia Police Department
(573)874-7448
lmstroer at gocolumbiamo.com


Columbia Police Department Cracking Down On Impaired Drivers During March 9 through March 17, 2015

COLUMBIA, MO (March 9, 2015) - Columbia Police Department Cracking Down on Impaired Drivers March 09-March 17 2015

 

          As part of the Columbia Police Department’s continued efforts to remove impaired drivers from our roadways, enforcement efforts will be increased March 09- March 17, 2015.  The Columbia Police Department received a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Division for participation in the You Drink, You Drive, You Lose campaign to stop people from driving while intoxicated.  A portion of the increased focus on impaired driving during these dates will include at least one sobriety checkpoint within the City of Columbia, as well as multiple saturation patrols.  Motorists encountering sobriety checkpoint should expect minimal delays.

            Impaired driving contributes to more than 30 percent of Missouri traffic fatalities.  In 2013, 223 people were killed in Missouri by being involved in crashes involving impaired drivers. An additional 745 people were seriously injured in crashes involving impaired drivers.  Missouri has a Zero Tolerance law.  If you are under 21, your license will be suspended if you’re caught driving with even a trace of alcohol in your body.  If you cause a fatal crash while intoxicated, you could be charged with Involuntary Manslaughter, a felony punishable by up to 7 years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both.  Your license can be suspended for 90 days on your first arrest for driving while intoxicated.  Your second offense results in a year-long revocation of your license, a fine of up to $1,000, and up to one year in jail.  Any person guilty of a second or subsequent alcohol-related traffic offense will be required to have an ignition interlock device instal
 
 led on their vehicle before their driving privileges are reinstated.

            “There’s never a reason for driving while intoxicated.” states Columbia Police Department DWI Enforcement Unit Officer Nathan Turner. “Even if you are “buzzed” you are putting your life on the line as well as the life of everyone else on the roadway.”



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