Local Law Enforcement Agencies Increase Impaired Driving Enforcement During the Holidays

BY DAVID FISHER

david@dresdenenterprise.com

WEAKLEY COUNTY (December 16) — The Weakley County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) and local municipal police departments are partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) to increase impaired-driving enforcement surrounding the holiday season, which started on December 18, 2020, and continues through January 1, 2021. The THSO’s statewide “Booze It and Lose It” campaign is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” nationwide mobilization.

The WCSO and other law enforcement agencies will have officers patrolling Weakley County, looking for DUI drivers in an effort to combat drinking and driving. This includes the Dresden, Gleason, Greenfield, Martin and Sharon police departments.

Those who are going to be out drinking are asked to please get a designated driver. The risk of drinking and driving is not worth the life of the driver or the life of another. Increased state and national messaging about the dangers of drunk driving, coupled with increased sobriety checkpoints and high visibility enforcement, aim to drastically reduce the number of drunk-driving crashes, injuries, and fatalities this year.

The Martin Police Department will be conducting a DUI Checkpoint on January 1, 2021, from 2-4 a.m. This checkpoint will be located on University Street. The checkpoint is held in conjunction with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office in their holiday campaign, “Booze It and Lose It,” as well as National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over nationwide mobilization. Law Enforcement agencies across the country will be taking steps to reduce drunk driving crashes and deaths during the holiday season. The Martin Police Department reminds everyone to drive safely and buckle up.

“We ask all Tennesseans to please drive safely this holiday season,” said THSO Director Buddy Lewis. “Our state and local law enforcement partners will be out in full force to secure Tennessee roadways. We want everyone to make it home safely, so please designate a sober driver.”

The consequences of a single DUI conviction for a first-time offender in the state of Tennessee may include costly fines, court costs, legal fees, jail time, mandatory drug and alcohol treatment, and/or the installation of an ignition interlock device in his/her vehicle.

The THSO provides grant funding to support WCSO’s increased enforcement efforts during the “Booze It and Lose It” holiday campaign. For more information about the THSO, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.

In a related holiday announcement, Assistant Martin Police Chief Phillip Fuqua states the New Year’s Eve Safety Bus, which has provided a safe ride home for those drinking on New Year’s Eve, will not run this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.