Community Corner
DUI and OWI Checkpoints in Michigan: Fourth of July 2014
Michigan police agencies are stepping up patrol over the three-day holiday weekend in a statewide crackdown on drunken and impaired driving.
Law enforcement agencies are taking preventative measures to ensure fewer fatal incidents this year during Independence Day weekend.
A statewide impaired-driving patrol began last Tuesday, with close to 150 law enforcements agencies and 26 counties participating, the Observer & Eccentric reports.
More than 300 people were killed in 2013 due to alcohol- or drug-related car accidents, an increase from 2012.
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Authorities will be stationed across Michigan through July 13.
The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning has alloted federal funds for the effort and will be covering Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.
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“Alcohol-involved fatalities have increased during the last few years, resulting in more families mourning the preventable loss of a loved one,” Michael L. Prine, the director of OHSP said. “Officers are taking part to encourage drivers to make smart decisions and plan ahead to ensure a safe way home. Make no mistake, if you drive drunk, you will be arrested,”
Last year during the Fourth of July holiday, there were 19 fatalities – six of them alcohol-related.
It’s illegal to drive with a blood alcohol index of 0.08 or more in Michigan, but motorists can be arrested at any BAC level. The decision is ultimately at the officer’s discretion.
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