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STATE OF CONNECTICUT Department of Public Safety 1111 Country Club Road Middletown, Connecticut 06457 |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 27, 2008 |
The Connecticut State Police today announced initial arrest results for the 2008 crackdown on impaired driving currently under way. The national Drunk Driving: Over the Limit,Under Arrest crackdown, which launched on August 15, includes the use of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, especially during high-risk nighttime hours.
“State Troopers have made 966 drunk driving arrests since Memorial Day 2008 in support of the national crackdown,” said Colonel Thomas Davoren. “The campaign continues through the Labor Day weekend and Connecticut State Troopers will be out in full force to help remove impaired drivers off local roads and highways.”
Driving with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher is illegal in all 50 States. Yet in 2006 alone, nearly 13,500 people were killed in U.S. motor vehicle crashes that involved a driver or motorcycle rider with a BAC of .08 or higher, according to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“It’s clear that too many people still don’t understand that impaired driving is no accident — nor is it a victimless crime,” noted Public Safety Commissioner John A. Danaher III. “So our message to motorists is simple and unwavering: if you get caught driving while impaired, you will be arrested. No exceptions.”
Voluntary compliance by motorists to not drink and drive is the goal of the Connecticut State Police as summer enforcement continues and as the Labor Day holiday approaches. We also need the public’s help: If you see a SUSPECTED drunk driver, report it to police immediately, as this is a true emergency. Help us to make Labor Day 2008 the safest holiday this year.
During the Labor Day weekend in 2007, Connecticut State Police issued 1,334 speeding tickets, 411 seatbelt violations, 1,315 other hazardous moving violations, and made 52 drunk driving arrests. State Police investigated 361 accidents, 71 with injury and 3 fatalities.
The following checkpoints will be in effect during Labor Day weekend:
DISTRICT/TROOP DATE: CHECKPOINT LOCATION:
WESTERN
B 08/29/08 Roving Patrols - Route 44
Winsted
New
Barkhamsted
Roving Patrols - Route 8
Colebrook
Winsted
Winsted
New
Roving Patrols - Route 8
Colebrook
Winsted
Winsted
New
Roving Patrols - Route 8
Colebrook
Winsted
Winsted
New
Roving Patrols - Route 8
Colebrook
Winsted
L 08/29/08 Roving Patrols - Route 8
to the town limits of
Watertown
Harwinton
Litchfield
Thomaston
G 08/29/08 Sobriety Checkpoint
Intersection of I-95 N/B,
Exit 24 and
A 08/30/08 Sobriety Checkpoint
Route 37,
New
CENTRAL
H 09/01/08 Roving Patrols
I-91
I-84
Route 9 Cromwell to
I 08/29/08 Sobriety Checkpoint
I-91 entrance ramp from
F 08/30/08 Sobriety Checkpoint
Route 66, Middlefield
Routes 147 and 157
Middlefield &
Old Lyme Res. Tpr. Office 08/31/08 Sobriety Checkpoint
Route 156 at I-95 on-ramp
Old Lyme
EASTERN
D 08/29/08 Sobriety Checkpoint
Sunset Avenue, Putnam
Sobriety Checkpoint
Route 44 (Providence Pike)
&
C 09/01/08 Sobriety Checkpoint
Intersection of Route 195
and Route 44,
E 08/30/08 Roving Patrols
Route 2A, between
Routes 12 and 2,
K 08/30/08 Sobriety Checkpoint
Route 149 and
conjunction with the
Breath Alcohol Testing Mobile.
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