(Undated)– Expect to see additional law enforcement officers on the road starting Friday and continuing through the remainder of the holiday season. Trooper Kevin Krull of the Iowa State Patrol says it’s part of a special traffic enforcement program…
“So we’ve got this upcoming STEP wave that starts on the 15th and goes through the first of the year. This is not a new wave for us, but it deals primarily with alcohol. And the reason we’re looking at this timeframe is because 35 percent of our crashes in 2022 involved a drunk driver or an impaired driver. So that’s 117 people when I did the math on that, that could have been alive had it not been for a drunk driver last year.”
Krull says drunk driving statistics for this time of year are alarming…
“In the month of December alone, 1,100 drivers were charged with OWI. In the month of December alone. So let’s just look at that and understand that we need to be doing our part not driving impaired, and that’s really easy by hey, if we’re going to be using those substances, we’re not going to get behind the wheel. We’re going to plan ahead. You know the old saying, failing to plan is planning to fail. And that exactly holds true with this. Get that ride located and if you are the designated driver take that job seriously and make sure you get everybody home safely. If you’re hosting make sure people have safe rides. If you see somebody that needs some help, get them that ride. Intervene because you don’t want your inaction to be something that causes a crash down the road.”
He offers these tips…
“We need to concentrate on driving. The phone can be put away. Silence the cell phone. And we need to wear our seatbelts. Yes you’ve driven for longer than I’ve been alive and you’ve made it this far, but it only takes that one moment in time, that one time, and who knows when that’s going to be. So let’s not play the odds against us, let’s make sure we have those in our favor and wear that seatbelt.”
Krull says they’ll also be keeping an eye out for other forms of impairment as well as distracted drivers.
