Published on Friday, September 1, 2006
in the Osceola News-Gazette

Police on the lookout for DUIs over holiday

With a double-digit spike in Labor Day holiday traffic deaths in Florida last year, more than half linked to alcohol, local authorities have aligned with a new nationwide campaign to stop and jail drunk drivers.

Osceola County television viewers might have already seen the spots for the Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. crackdown. The commercial shows law enforcement officers pulling over motorists driving beer or liquor-filled vehicles and then asking them if they had been drinking. A narrator follows with a vow that all drunk drivers will be arrested.

Its a new $11 million nationwide advertising campaign launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and local authorities hope it will combat rising weekend holiday traffic deaths.

Forty-four people were killed over the Labor Day holiday last year with 52 percent of the crashes linked to alcohol, Florida Highway Patrol officials said. Thats compared to the 23 people killed in 2004 over the same period.

It is alarming, said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Kim Miller, agency spokeswoman. We dont want to see the numbers that high again.

The campaign replaces the previous You Drink You Drive You Lose initiative.

Sometimes you have to change the message so people dont get complacent, Miller said.

The Osceola County Sheriffs Office kicked off the campaign last weekend, making seven DUI arrests.

Over the coming holiday weekend the agency will set up a sobriety checkpoint on U.S. Highway 17-92, south of John Young Parkway.

It is a more focused campaign than You Drink You Drive You Lose, said Twis Lizasuain, agency spokeswoman. Our goal with all special enforcement is to reduce alcohol-involved crashes and fatalities.

The St. Cloud Police Department will conduct two operations. One will be to assist the Sheriffs Office with the checkpoint while the other will be conducting patrols in St. Cloud focusing on impaired drivers.

The Highway Patrol is offering overtime to troopers who will solely look for impaired drivers. The lawbreakers are usually identified by the blatant traffic infractions they commit such as speeding and repetitive lane changes, Miller said.

About 35.2 million people in the nation are expected to travel 50 miles or more this weekend, which is a 1.2 percent increase from last year, said AAA Auto Club South. That projection includes the 1.6 million Floridians who will be on the road.

In 2004, nearly 13,000 people were killed in crashes where the blood alcohol level was .08 or higher, according Mothers Against Drunk Driving. A level of .08 constitutes driving under the influence of alcohol in Florida, where more than 1,000 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in 2004.

I lost my 21-month-old son, Courtney, to a drunk driver, said Glynn Birch, MADD national president and an Orlando resident, in a press release. At the time of the crash the driver had a blood alcohol level of .26 and was driving with a revoked license and three prior DUI convictions. I dont want anyone else to experience the heartache of drunk driving. This is a tragic and senseless crime that must be stopped.

The campaign, which began Aug. 18, concludes Sept. 4.