Virginia’s law enforcement will be out in full force during the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization, and the local Checkpoint Strikeforce mobilization, which runs from August 19 to September 5, 2016. Impaired driving prevention is the focus of the mobilizations, which are held in advance of and include the Labor Day holiday, one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.
In combination with increased enforcement, law enforcement agencies, DMV’s Virginia Highway Safety Office and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, along with other traffic safety advocates across the Commonwealth, are teaming up to provide education and outreach efforts about the dangers of impaired driving to Virginians. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, in conjunction with Checkpoint Strikeforce, runs from August 19 to September 5, 2016.
August 2016 Facts:
- Increased enforcement, impaired driving prevention and saving lives is the focus
- DMV’s Virginia Highway Safety Office, WRAP, and other traffic safety advocates, are providing education about dangers of impaired driving
- Sixteen people died in traffic crashes during the four-day Labor Day holiday last year in Virginia
- In Virginia in 2015, 241 fatalities, 4,917 injuries and 11,912 crashes were alcohol-related
- Motorists ages 21 to 35 represent 84 of the alcohol-related deaths last year, or 35 percent
- As of Aug. 11, 2016 in Virginia, 86 fatalities, 2,657 injuries and 4,093 crashes were alcohol-related
- On average, over 10,000 people died each year from 2010 to 2014 in drunk-driving crashes nationwide
- Of the 9,967 people who were killed in the United States in impaired-driving crashes in 2014, 64 percent were the drunk drivers themselves
- In 2014 in the U.S., approximately 1 in 5 children killed in traffic crashes (14 and younger) were passengers in drunk-driving crashes. Fifty-six percent of the time, it was the child’s own driver who was drunk.
- Based on 2010 numbers (the most recent year for which cost data is available), impaired-driving crashes cost the United States $44 billion annually
- If a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is below the legal limit (0.08 percent in Virginia), their ability to drive a car safely may still be impaired
- A BAC as low as .03 percent adversely affects driving ability. As little as one drink on an empty stomach can impair your ability to drive safely.
- A driver with a BAC of 0.15 is over 300 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash