Impaired driving enforcement blitz under way

CLEVELAND - You’ve probably noticed the signs decorating the overpasses on freeways in and around Cuyahoga County this week reading, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

Beginning Friday, Ohio law enforcement will join the nations’ Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over crackdown on impaired driving.

The enforcement blitz will last through Labor Day.

“Law enforcement partners across the state will be out in full force to ensure people are making the right decisions on our roads,” said Ohio Department of Public Safety Director Tom Charles in a press release. “Impaired driving is a serious matter, but the message is clear – drive sober or get pulled over.”

Officers have planned more than 6,500 enforcement hours and more than 1,700 hours of saturation patrols around the state including 34 checkpoints. Checkpoints will be determined based on areas that have had high numbers of alcohol-related deaths and injuries.

“We can’t fight the battle against impaired driving on our own – we need your commitment to make our roads safer,” said Colonel John Born, Patrol superintendent in a press release. “You can contribute to a safer Ohio by actively influencing friends and family to make safe, responsible decisions – like planning ahead to designate a driver and insisting that everyone in the vehicle is buckled up.”

Research shows 414 people died in 383 OVI-related crashes on Ohio’s roads in 2011. Impaired drivers were involved in 41 percent of all fatal traffic crashes.

The national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over crackdown is a program organized by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.