Life Saving Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Mobilization Begins
City of Minden Kicks Off High Visibility Enforcement Aug 18, 2023
Minden, LA – Minden Police Department wants to remind motorists to Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. In order to enforce this reminder, Minden Police Department will be stepping up enforcement beginning August 18, 2023. “Our officer’s will be enforcing this law,” said Chief Jared Mclver. “If you are impaired, you will be stopped.”
Minden Police Department and Webster Parish Sheriff’s Office efforts are part of a larger, national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization that runs August 18 – September 4, 2023. Driving a vehicle while impaired is a dangerous crime. Tough enforcement of drinking and driving laws is a major factor in the decrease in drinking and driving related deaths since the 1980s. Charges range from misdemeanors to felony offenses, and penalties for impaired driving can include driver’s license revocation, fines, and jail time. It’s also extremely expensive. A first-time offense can cost the driver upwards of $10,000 in fines and legal fees.
Every day, 28 people in the United States die in an alcohol-related vehicle crash — that’s one person every 51 minutes. Drunk driving fatalities have fallen by a third in the last three decades; however, the chance of being in an alcohol-impaired crash is still one in three over the course of a lifetime. These deaths and damages contribute to a cost of $52 billion per year.
Alcohol is a substance that reduces the function of the brain, impairing thinking, reasoning and muscle coordination. All these abilities are essential to operating a vehicle safely.
As alcohol levels rise in a person’s system, the negative effects on the central nervous system increase, too. Alcohol is absorbed directly through the walls of the stomach and small intestine. Then it passes into the bloodstream where it accumulates until it is metabolized by the liver. Alcohol level is measured by the weight of the alcohol in a certain volume of blood. This is called Blood Alcohol Concentration, or BAC. At BAC of 0.08 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood, crash risk increases exponentially. Because of this risk, it’s illegal in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico to drive with 0.08 BAC or higher. However, even a small amount of alcohol can affect driving ability. 1,764 people were killed in 2014 in alcohol-related crashes where BAC was less than 0.08 BAC. BAC is measured with a breathalyzer, a device that measures the amount of alcohol in a driver’s breath, or by a blood test.
| Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) | Typical Effects | Predictable Effects on Driving |
| .02% | Some loss of judgment, relaxation, slight body warmth, altered mood | Decline in visual functions (rapid tracking of a moving target), decline in ability to perform two tasks at the same time (divided attention) |
| .05% | Exaggerated behavior, may have loss of small-muscle control (e.g. focusing your eyes), impaired judgment, usually good feeling, lowered alertness, release of inhibition | Reduced coordination, reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering, reduced response to emergency driving situations |
| .08% | Muscle coordination becomes poor (e.g. balance, speech, vision, reaction time, and hearing), harder to detect danger, judgment, self-control, reasoning, and memory are impaired | Concentration, short-term memory loss, speed control, reduced information processing capability (e.g. signal detection, visual search), impaired perception |
| .10% | Clear deterioration of reaction time and control, slurred speech, poor coordination, and slowed thinking | Reduced ability to maintain lane position and brake appropriately |
| .15% | Far less muscle control than normal, vomiting may occur (unless this level is reached slowly or a person has developed a tolerance for alcohol), major loss of balance | Substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing |
BEING A RESPONSIBLE DRIVER IS SIMPLE. IF YOU ARE DRINKING, PLAN NOT TO DRIVE:
1. Before drinking, choose a non-drinking friend as a designated driver.
2. Don’t let your friends drive impaired.
3. If you have been drinking, call a taxi or ride service. Some communities have Safe Ride programs for a free ride home.
4. If you’re hosting a party where alcohol will be served, make sure all guests leave with a sober driver.
5. Always wear your seat belt — it’s your best defense against impaired drivers
For more information on the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/ciot