LANSING - In wake of Christmas and New Year’s, law enforcement officials throughout Michigan will be participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign. This means that there will be increased patrols on the roads from December 11, 2020 to January 1, 2021. In 2019, there were 9,787 alcohol-involved crashes in Michigan with 295 alcohol-involved fatalities throughout the state.

“Drunk driving is deadly and illegal. Getting behind the wheel of a vehicle after you’ve been drinking endangers you, your passengers, and everyone else on the road,” said Michael L. Prince, Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) Director. “Even if your travel plans are different this year, and you’re just making short trips near home, always drive sober.”

As a way to remember those whose lives were lost due to impaired driving, December has been proclaimed as Impaired Driving Prevention Month in Michigan. The goal is to remind the public that preventing impaired driving injuries and deaths is the responsibility of the driver.

The 2019 Michigan Annual Drunk Driving Audit led by the Michigan State Police said that 41.9% of all fatal crashes were due to alcohol, drugs, or both.