OXFORD, MISS. (OPD)–The end of summer is traditionally marked by the Labor Day holiday. The long weekend is typically celebrated through picnics, pool parties, and barbecues, as families and friends enjoy the last few days of summer. Sadly, the Labor Day holiday is also one of the deadliest, with drunk drivers endangering themselves and others on America’s roadways.
This year, the Oxford Police Department is partnering with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to stop impaired drivers and help save lives. The high-visibility national enforcement campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, runs from August 16 through September 4, 2017. During this period, local law enforcement will show zero tolerance for impaired driving.
Increased state and national messages about the dangers of driving impaired, coupled with enforcement and increased officers on the road, aim to drastically reduce impaired driving on our nation’s roadways.
Statistics show a frightening trend in impaired-driving. According to NHTSA, 10,265 people were killed in impaired-driving crashes in 2015, an increase from the 9,967 people killed in 2014. On average, 10,000 people were killed each year from 2011 to 2015—one person killed every 51 minutes in 2015. That’s the equivalent of 20 jumbo jets crashing each year, with no survivors.
Over the Labor Day holiday period in 2015, there were 460 crash fatalities nationwide. Forty percent of those fatal crashes involved drivers who had been drinking (.01+ BAC). Of those alcohol-related fatal crashes, one third (33%) involved drivers who were drunk (.08+ BAC), and nearly one-fourth (23%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the illegal limit (.15+ BAC). Nighttime is the most dangerous time to be out on the roads: During the 2015 Labor Day holiday period, 78 percent of drunk-driving crash fatalities occurred between 6 pm and 5:59 am
“We’re stressing the dangers of driving impaired to our community,” said Joey East, Chief of police. “If you’re out on the roads and you see someone driving impaired, please call us. You could help save a life.” 
