Summer is on the Way – Make it Safe and Sober

Be Aware of Statewide DUI Patrols from June 24 through July 4

Washingtonians are preparing for summer fun. Celebrations that involve alcohol sometimes result in drunk drivers on our roads. So, after beach parties, barbeques, or an evening at the bar, don’t drive if you have been drinking. If you drive hammered, you will get nailed!

Traffic deaths that involve a drunk and/or drugged driver are highest during the summer months in Washington. From 2005 through 2009, more than 20 percent of all impaired driver-involved traffic deaths occurred during June and July. That is why extra DUI patrols will take place throughout Yakima County from June 24 through the 4^th of July Holiday.

In Yakima County, DUI Patrols will be increased though a grant funded by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC) and supported by the Yakima County Target Zero Traffic Safety Task Force.

“Encouragingly, 2010 preliminary data shows that the number of deaths involving a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs decreased by 17 percent from the previous 5-year average of 276. I think this shows that more of Washington’s citizens are choosing to drive sober. However, with 229 deaths, we still have a long way to go. Even one life lost as a result of an impaired driver is unacceptable,” said Lowell Porter, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

Law enforcement officers statewide advise everyone to choose their ride carefully!  Plan ahead – designate a sober driver, take a taxi because if you drive impaired, your ride may well be a police car taking you directly to jail!

For additional information about the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, visit www.wtsc.wa.gov.