Highway Checkpoint Strikeforce Debuts for July Fourth Holiday; Multi-State Blitz to Enforce Laws Against Impaired Driving |
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
June 27, 2002
NHTSA 49-02
Thursday, June 27, 2002
Contact: Kathryn Henry
Tel. No. (202) 366-9550
Checkpoint Strikeforce, a coalition including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and state and local transportation and law enforcement agencies from the mid-Atlantic states, today announced the launch the region's first state-through-state sobriety checkpoint blitz. The unprecedented border-through-border law enforcement effort begins tomorrow (June 28), in time for the heavy traffic anticipated throughout the weekend and Fourth of July holiday, and will continue every week through New Year's Day, 2003.
The District of Columbia, and the states of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are participating in this enforcement effort.
"As an emergency physician, I can tell you firsthand that impaired driving is a tragedy for families all across America. It is a serious and deadly crime that kills every 32 minutes," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D. "We know that when communities come together to conduct highly visible enforcement, lives are saved. I commend Checkpoint Strikeforce for being a national model for how federal, state, and local organizations can work together to protect our families every day from impaired drivers."
With record numbers of travelers expected on the nation's highways, this summer could be one of the deadliest periods ever for impaired-driving fatalities. According to a recent NHTSA survey, most Americans are more concerned that drinking and driving will cause harm to their families this July 4th holiday than fireworks, food poisoning, drowning or even terrorism. The survey also shows that 4 out of 5 Americans support increased enforcement and tougher laws to protect themselves and their families from impaired drivers.
After several years of improvement, recent statistics indicate that alcohol-related crashes are on the rise. They cause an estimated 300,000 injuries and cost society over $45 billion each year. In 2000, 1,438 lives were lost in the region in crashes related to impaired driving.
When sobriety checkpoints were used intermittently throughout the mid-Atlantic region during the past 20 years, the number of alcohol-related crashes was reduced by as much as 20 percent. The Checkpoint Strikeforce blitz will build on previous statewide efforts to create a regional enforcement program aimed at deterring impaired driving and arresting offenders. Sobriety checkpoints will be supplemented with law enforcement saturation patrols and public awareness campaigns as part of the Checkpoint Strikeforce program. The blitz underscores that the majority of Americans support the use of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols to keep them and loved ones safe from impaired drivers.
Checkpoint Strikeforce is being conducted in conjunction with the July 4th holiday You Drink & Drive. You Lose. National Mobilization. Since 1999, national mobilizations are conducted during July and December to highlight the dangers of impaired driving and to mobilize criminal justice and traffic safety partners in all 50 states to conduct sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, all aimed at keeping Americans safe from this serious and deadly crime. For more information about Checkpoint Strikeforce and the National Mobilization, visit the NHTSA Web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/.
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