By TRAVIS WELSH
Missoula area law enforcement will be actively searching for impaired drivers during the holiday season. From December 16 through January 2, the Montana Highway Patrol and law enforcement across the state including the Missoula Police Department and Missoula County Sheriff’s Department will add extra patrols during the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” national crackdown.
The troopers of the Safety Enforcement Traffic Team (SETT), specializing in high-risk impaired driving enforcement, will also be deployed in the Kalispell area during this period.
According to experts, dui arrests are part of an ongoing effort to reduce deadly drinking and driving in the state. In the last decade, impaired drivers were involved in nearly 50 percent of all fatal crashes.
The Montana Department of Transportation and Missoula area law enforcement are asking drivers and members of the public to do their part to prevent impaired driving. Here are some tips this holiday season:
- Alcohol can enhance the side effects of medication. Avoid mixing alcohol with any medications, and ask your doctor about possible consequences if you do.
- If you plan to drink at a party, bar or restaurant, have a sober friend do the driving, or find another alternative.
- Expect your friends and family to have a sober driver and let them know it.
- Provide safe transportation for your party guests—as well as non-alcoholic beverages.
- Call 9-1-1 to report an impaired driver.
- Buckle up every person, every trip, every time.
If you fail to do this and get arrested for DUI, you may need to hire a dui defense lawyer and get a license reinstatement. Diligent enforcement of the state’s traffic laws is critical to Montana’s Vision Zero goal to eliminate roadway deaths and serious injuries. Law enforcement agencies participating in extra patrols are funded by the Montana Department of Transportation as one of several strategic partnerships to reduce impaired driving in the state. For more information, visit plan2live.mt.gov or #VisionZeroMT. Contact Charity Watt, Montana Department of Transportation 406-444-3439, cwatt@mt.gov