Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 14, 2024

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

From August 16 through September 2, which includes the Labor Day holiday weekend, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will be working alongside the Sauk County Highway Safety Task Force which includes the Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, Lake Delton Police Department, Reedsburg Police Department, Baraboo Police Department and Sauk Prairie Police Department for the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over high-visibility enforcement campaign. The goal is to deter impaired driving and prevent the tragedies seen in previous Labor Day weekends from happening again. 

During the 2022 Labor Day holiday (6 p.m. September 2-5:59 a.m. September 6), there were 490 crash fatalities nationwide. Of these 490 traffic crash fatalities, 39% (190) involved a drunk driver, and a quarter (25%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Among drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday in 2022, 47% of those drivers were drunk, with BACs of .08 or higher.

“We want our community members to understand that it’s our first priority to keep people safe, so we’re asking everyone to plan ahead if they know they’ll be out” said Sheriff Chip Meister “The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign is an awareness effort to get the message out that drunk driving is illegal and it takes lives. Let’s make this a partnership between law enforcement and drivers: Help us protect the community and put an end to this senseless behavior”

Drivers should be safe during this Labor Day holiday by planning ahead if they intend to drink. They shouldn’t wait until after drinking to plan how to get home. Impairment clouds a person’s judgment. Drivers should secure a designated sober driver or call a taxi or ride share for a sober ride home.

If a driver finds they are unable to drive, they should give their keys to a sober driver so that person can get them home safely. When a friend has been drinking and is considering driving, friends should be proactive — take away the keys and help them get a sober ride home.  

For more information on impaired driving, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving.