Safety Checkpoints Announced

 

 

 

In 2015, 840 people lost their lives in drunk-driving-related crashes in the month of December alone. Of these crashes, twenty-eight percent involved a driver with a BAC of .08 or higher.

If you will be drinking, plan on not driving. Plan your safe ride home before you start New Year’s Eve celebrations. Designate a sober driver ahead of time.

 

If someone you know has been drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel. Take their keys, take them home, or help them arrange a sober ride. 

 

If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact local law enforcement by dialing 911. Your actions could help save someone’s life.

 

The Mount Pleasant Police Department’s Traffic Bureau will be conducting traffic safety checkpoints during the evening of December 30, 2016 in the areas of Highway 41, Isle of Palms Connector, and Hungryneck Blvd. We encourage everyone to be safe and make smart decisions in their celebrations.



Drive Sober or get Pulled Over

2015 HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN                                                                         

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

 

 

Drunk Driving Ruins the Holidays

Police Aim to Save Lives With ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’

 

Mount Pleasant, SC—If you’re enjoying the holidays with a drink, the Mount Pleasant Police Department has a message for you: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. Due to the increase in drunk-driving-related fatalities around the holidays each year, law enforcement agencies across America will be actively searching for and arresting drunk drivers from December 11 to January 1. They have good reason to: in 2013, 10,076 people were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver. In December 2013 alone there were 733 people killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. 23 of those deaths occurred on Christmas Day. 

 

“It’s time for all drivers to get the message,” said Sgt. Kimberly Herring. “Drunk driving is a choice you make, and when you make that choice, people get hurt or die. That’s why we’re joining with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to share the message: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” The safest way to get home, Sgt. Herring said, is to drive sober or catch a ride with a sober designated driver. If you plan on drinking at the holiday party or at a restaurant, hand the keys over to someone else – a sober friend, a taxi or public transportation. Or, try NHTSA’s SaferRide mobile app, which allows users to call a taxi or a friend by identifying their location so they can be picked up. The app is available at http://ow.ly/RWs3S for Android and http://ow.ly/RWs8h for iPhone users.

 

As part of the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement campaign period, police will be increasing the number of patrols, setting up roadblocks, and using local media to reach out to all drivers. If you’re drinking and driving, Mount Pleasant Police will stop you. If you’re caught drinking and driving you could face jail time, fines, loss of driver’s license, towing fees, and other DUI expenses, totaling $10,000 on average. That’s not a small price, and that doesn’t even count the heftier price you could pay: the price of your life or someone else’s. 

 

In addition to reminding all drivers to drive sober, Sgt. Herring is calling on everyone to be alert. If you see a drunk driver on the road, call the police right away. If someone you know is about to drive after drinking, take their keys and help them get home safely. “We’ve got to work together to make our roads safer this December and year-round,” she said. 

 

Remember, driving after drinking should never be an option. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

“Drive sober or get pulled over”

The Mount Pleasant Police Department is Cracking Down on Drunk Driving this July 4th

Mount Pleasant, SC – The Fourth of July holiday is a favorite time of year for many Americans. Backyard parties, good food, and fireworks. But the celebrating unfortunately turns deadly when people drive after drinking alcohol.  Drunk driving is a preventable problem on Independence Day each year in the United States.

• In 2013, Forbes magazine named the Independence Day holiday “the most dangerous holiday of the year.”
• This year, the Fourth comes on a Saturday, so Friday, July 3, is the Federal holiday and observance. That means the Fourth of July weekend starts at 6 p.m. Thursday and extends to 5:59 a.m. Monday morning, July 6.
• In 2013, there were 512 people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes over the Fourth of July holiday (6 p.m. July 3rd through 5:59 a.m. July 8th). Of those fatalities, 199 (39%) occurred in crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 grams per deciliter or higher.
• During the July Fourth holiday period in 2013, the rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes was over three times higher at night than during the day.
• Unfortunately, these enforcement campaigns are necessary—drunk driving is an epidemic in our nation. In 2013, there were 10,076 people killed in drunk-driving crashes. That’s almost one third of all traffic fatalities nationwide.

Make a Plan to Get Home Safely This Fourth of July. “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

If you drive drunk, you not only put your life and the lives of others at risk, you could face a DUI arrest. The average DUI costs $10,000, making it difficult to recover financially.