August 22, 2010 Sunday

National DUI Crackdown Begins Friday Stepped up DUI enforcement runs from August 20th to September 6th

LENGTH: 461 words

DATELINE: Delaware

Delaware, Aug. 22 -- The Delaware state has issued following press release:

Going out this weekend? Be warned.so are State, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, as they join thousands of their colleagues across the country in a nationwide DUI crackdown. The Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. mobilization begins Friday August 20th and runs through Labor Day. In Delaware this means increased enforcement in the form of 15 sobriety checkpoints and 273 DUI saturation patrols, as well as additional radio and TV ads reminding people that one more drink could be one too many.

"Nearly 12,000 people nationwide die each year due to impaired driving," said Jana Simpler, Director of the Delaware Office of Highway Safety. "We want everyone to understand that impaired driving is a crime and often has deadly results. If you drive impaired, you will be arrested." Ninety-six (96) drivers were arrested for DUI during the 2009 impaired driving crackdown.

During the 2009 crackdown period there were 9 traffic fatalities and nearly half were alcohol-related. Since January 1st of this year, 17 of the 63 traffic deaths (27%) were alcohol-related compared to this time last year when 20 of the 69 traffic deaths (29%) were alcohol-related.

The consequences for driving impaired are serious. If you choose to drive impaired, you could face jail time, loss of driver license, and mandatory use of an ignition interlock device, installed in your vehicle at your own expense. If you are convicted of a DUI you will have a criminal record for the rest of your life, your insurance premiums will significantly increase, and you will have to pay for and attend a mandatory eight week DUI treatment classes with drug testing.

The first checkpoints of the crackdown will take place in Clayton, Georgetown, and Rehoboth. Over thirty State and local police agencies, representing most of Delaware's law enforcement community, are participating in the crackdown in combination with Checkpoint Strikeforce including: Blades Police, Bethany Beach Police, Camden Police, Clayton Police, Cheswold Police, Delaware City Police, Delaware State Police, Dewey Beach Police, Dover Police, Elsmere Police, Felton Police, Georgetown Police, Harrington Police, Laurel Police, Lewes Police, Middletown Police, Milford Police, Millsboro Police, Milton Police, New Castle City Police, New Castle County Police, Newark Police, Newport Police, Ocean View Police, Rehoboth Beach Police, Seaford Police, Smyrna Police and Wyoming Police.

For more information please contact plusnewspk@gmail.co Published by HT Syndication with permission from Right Vision News. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

LOAD-DATE: August 22, 2010

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newswire