Starting soon, Oklahoman’s and out-of-state travelers will hit the roads for the Labor Day weekend. Some will head to the lakes and rivers, others to destinations in other states. One thing is for sure, people will be drinking alcohol this weekend.
That’s why almost 100 law enforcement agencies are teaming up across the state; to make sure nobody drives under the influence, and everyone gets home safe. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the ENDUI team will conduct two sobriety checkpoints this weekend.
The first checkpoint will be on Friday, Aug. 30 in Norman. The checkpoint will be conducted with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Norman Police Department, and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office. The checkpoint will start at 11 p.m. and end at 2 a.m. Saturday. Law enforcement will be out on patrol before, during, and after the checkpoint all across Cleveland County looking for impaired drivers.
The second ENDUI checkpoint will take place on Saturday, Aug. 31 in Tulsa. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol will be joined by the Tulsa Police Department, Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oklahoma ABLE Commission. The checkpoint will start at 10 p.m. and will end at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1.
The Creek County Sheriff’s Office and Sapulpa Police Department will also conduct high-visibility patrols throughout their areas to deter and catch impaired drivers.
Multiple agencies around Ft. Gibson will also be conducting a saturation patrol, putting extra units on the roads to catch impaired drivers.
Law enforcement from across the state will also be participating in the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office’s national mobilization, ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’. Each year, the ‘Drive Sober’ campaign happens twice a year; once around Labor Day, and again during the holiday season.
The campaign is a national enforcement effort aimed at lowering the number and severity of impaired driving crashes across the United States.
As a part of the ‘Drive Sober’ campaign, the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO) is offering a $10 off Uber coupon for anyone who will use it. With the abundance of ride-share services in Oklahoma, there is no reason for someone to drive under the influence. By offering these discount codes, the OHSO hopes to increase the number of people using a sober driver to get home and decrease the number of people killed in crashes across the state. To sign up for the code, click here.
In 2018, 331 people were killed in alcohol and/or drug-related crashes in Oklahoma. The number of people involved in drug-related crashes continues to outnumber those killed in alcohol-related crashes. This is a trend that is both alarming and unacceptable.
The ENDUI enforcement team coordinates multi-jurisdictional events on a regular basis, including sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. These efforts are needed to impact Oklahoma’s impaired driving problem across the state. The locations of these activities are driven by data from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and by local request.
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