Law enforcement agencies across Montana will deploy extra patrols to prevent impaired driving during the final weeks of summer. Saturation patrols for DUI enforcement are set for August
21 through Labor Day September 7. The extra patrols are funded by grants to city and county jurisdictions and the Montana Highway Patrol from the Montana Department of Transportation.
“Every year close to 100 people die in alcohol-related crashes on Montana roads,” said Mike Tooley, the director of the Montana Department of Transportation. “Every time an impaired driving crash shatters a life and breaks a family apart, the impact is even more tragic because we know it could have been prevented.”
Increased law enforcement presence, especially in conjunction with holiday celebrations that typically include alcohol are one prong of Vision Zero—to reach zero deaths and zero serious injuries on Montana’s roadways.
The Labor Day impaired driving crackdown is part of the national law enforcement effort, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”. Twenty law enforcement agencies across the state will participate. During the crackdown, the Montana Highway Patrol’s specialized DUI Safety Enforcement Traffic Team (SETT) will patrol and Missoula and Ravalli counties September 1 through September 7. Research studies show high visibility enforcement is effective in reducing impaired driving crashes. A report released late last year found a direct correlation between the number of traffic stops and the reduced incidence of impaired driving, as well as lower blood alcohol levels among those drivers who tested positive for blood alcohol content.
“Because it influences driver behavior, enforcement is one of our most effective tools to reach Vision Zero,” said Tooley. “When it comes to death and injury on our roadways, zero is the only number that is acceptable.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that high-visibility enforcement can reduce alcohol related driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent. MDT collaborates with partner agencies and Montana residents to reach Vision Zero.
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