Statewide effort keeping roads safe Labor Day Weekend

Submitted photo

Indiana State Police

The Indiana State Police, the Governor’s Council on Impaired & Dangerous Driving and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute are participating in the national and statewide 2016 Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement mobilization occurring Aug. 12 through Sept. 5.

Officers will join more than 250 state and local law enforcement agencies, and thousands more across the country, to conduct high-visibility patrols encouraging drivers against drinking and driving.

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is an annual enforcement effort supported by federal funding allocated to Indiana State Police from the Traffic Safety division of ICJI. Officers will work overtime to conduct sobriety patrols and checkpoints around the clock. According to ICJI, in 2015, there were 4,828 alcohol-impaired collisions in Indiana, resulting in 92 fatalities. This is a 26.5 percent decrease in the number of alcohol-impaired collisions, and a 9 percent decrease in resulting fatalities, from 2014.

Indiana law enforcement agencies have been actively involved in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign for over 20 years.

For more information regarding the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement mobilization campaign, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober.

 Indiana State Police encourage all motorists to observe the following safety tips:

• Leave early. Allow extra time to get to your destination.
• Make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled up.
• Don’t use cruise control in heavy traffic.
• Always signal lane changes.
• Use headlights even during daylight hours.
• Reduce your speed in rain and NEVER DRIVE INTO WATER FLOWING OVER THE ROADWAY. 
• Decrease your speed in construction zones-Obey posted speed limits.
• REMEMBER TO SLOW DOWN AND MOVE OVER FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES, TOW TRUCKS, SERVICE TRUCKS AND HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE VEHICLES!!
• Make sure you are well rested.  A fatigued driver is as dangerous as an impaired driver.
• Increase the distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you, especially in construction zones.
• Watch for slow moving farm equipment on county and state roads.
• Watch attentively for motorcycles. Check blinds spots before changing lanes and look twice at intersections before you turn or pull out into traffic.
• Anticipate hazards that may confront a motorcyclist like large pot holes, debris, or other hazardous road conditions.
• Be cautious and observant when turning left. A primary cause of crashes between vehicles and motorcycles is when a vehicle turns left in front of an oncoming motorcycle
• Obey all traffic laws and never drive impaired.

Motorists are encouraged to report suspected impaired drivers by calling 9-1-1. Give a vehicle description, location, and direction of travel. Never follow an impaired driver.

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