Highway Patrol increasing efforts against drunken drivers

The Missouri State Highway Patrol will continue its aggressive efforts to address the issue of motorists driving while intoxicated by participating in Safe and Sober enforcement programs throughout 2001, according to a release from the Highway Patrol.

Last year's traffic crash statistics indicated that within the 18-county Troop D region, Jasper and Taney Counties experienced the greatest number of alcohol-related crashes. Consequently, troopers participating in Safe and Sober enforcement activities will concentrate their efforts within these two counties.

During each weekend in April, four extra troopers, working 12-hour shifts, will patrol both counties looking primarily for careless and impaired driving behaviors.

These additional officers are allowed to focus most of their attention on detecting the impaired driver and will not normally be assigned to take other calls for service. During the past several years, this supplemental approach has proven very successful in addressing the impaired driving problem, the release stated.

In 1999, the most recent year for which the patrol has complete statistics, 217 people were killed and 6,283 were injured in alcohol related traffic crashes. Sixty percent of these crashes occurred on a weekend between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.

More than 80 percent of the drinking drivers were male with an average age of 33. The good news is that these statistics reflect a decrease in alcohol-related crash statistics from

1998.

The patrol will also continue its aggressive DWI Checkpoint program and plans to conduct its first of many scheduled checkpoints within the next several weeks.

Additionally, DWI saturation enforcement programs are currently being conducted in Barry and Polk counties. Other selected counties within Troop D will experience saturation efforts throughout 2001.