As Labor Day Nears, Crackdown on Drunk Drivers Intensifies

With summer quickly coming to its unofficial end as Labor Day approaches, countless American families will take to the roads to take advantage of their one last chance for a summer excursion before their kids get back into the full swing of school.

This month, in an effort to make the roads safer for everyone, government officials kicked off a nationwide effort to rid the road of drunk drivers, including here in North Carolina.

The campaign – known as “Drive Sober or Get pulled Over” – involves various drunk driver checkpoints and breath alcohol testing. Ollie Jeffers, who works with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in various North Carolina counties, recently told WTVD-TV News, “I really appreciate any campaign that we have that can help us to combat drunk driving.”

Given that drunk driving is still one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. – there have been nearly 400 drunk driving fatal car crashes the last few years in North Carolina alone – many believe this program is sorely needed. In fact, more than 10,000 law enforcement agencies throughout the country are taking part in “‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

“This campaign, ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,’ it’s just another step for us to keep our highways safe,” Jeffers told WTVD-TV News. “They think, well you know, ‘I’ve done it for so long and I’ve never been caught,’ and they don’t feel like they will ever be caught drunk driving.”

Hopefully with Labor Day just around the corner, this campaign will do some good and keep the families of North Carolina safe while traversing the state’s roads.

Source: WTVD-TV News, “Nationwide crackdown on drunk driving,” August 14, 2012

Our firm often handles situations in which drunk drivers injure other innocent motorists on the road. If you would like to learn more about our personal injury practice, feel free to visit our North Carolina Drunk Driving Accidents page.