Sobriety Checkpoints and Patrols Planned Across Oklahoma for NYE

(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO) and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol (OHP) are teaming up with nearly 100 law enforcement agencies across Oklahoma to combat impaired driving this New Year's Eve. The goal is simple: to make Oklahoma as safe as possible by getting impaired drivers off the roads. Additional deputies, officers, and troopers will be on duty looking for impaired drivers across the the state before, during, and after any checkpoints. During the New Year’s holiday last year, there were a total of 374 crashes in Oklahoma. Five of these crashes were fatal, resulting in the deaths of five people. Two of the people killed were in alcohol/drug-related crashes. Of the 374 crashes during the 2018 NYE period, 45 were alcohol and/or drug-related. This means that more than 12 percent of the holiday crashes on Oklahoma roads involved a potentially impaired driver As a part of the national 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' mobilization and the ENDUI Oklahoma campaign, the following agencies will be conducting checkpoints and/or saturation patrols: Tulsa: Sobriety checkpoint from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. within the city limits of Tulsa, followed by a large saturation patrol in Tulsa County and the surrounding counties. Pottawatomie County: A sobriety checkpoint is planned starting from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a large saturation patrol involving all law enforcement agencies in the county before, during, and after the checkpoint. Those are only a handful of the events planned across Oklahoma this evening and into tomorrow morning. Other agencies who have signed up to participate in the mobilization will be doing extra patrols to end impaired driving. A saturation patrol means that a large number of law enforcement will be on duty looking for impaired drivers. Many people believe that if they can avoid a checkpoint, they won't get caught. That is not the case as each checkpoint has a saturation patrol before, during, and after it. If impaired drivers are on the road tonight, they will be found. There will be zero tolerance for impaired drivers because there is no excuse to drive impaired. Everyone is highly encouraged to find a safe ride by calling a sober driver, using a cab, Uber, Lyft or any other ride-share service. Better yet, have a designated driver. Have fun and enjoy life, but do not, under any circumstances, drive while impaired by alcohol or any other substance. The cost is too high. Let’s ENDUI. 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.