FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 17, 2007

 

CONTACTS:

SID GAULDEN, SCDPS 803-600-8119

JOHN ALLARD, LEXINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, 803-309-0142

CHRIS COWAN, RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE, 803-576-3036

 

 

SCDPS, local agencies kick off labor Day dui campaign

Sober or Slammer concludes the 100 Days of Summer HEAT initiative

 

COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) and local law enforcement agencies statewide announced plans today to combine efforts to combat impaired driving during the Sober or Slammer (SOS) Labor Day campaign, from August 17 to September 3. The statewide DUI enforcement and public information effort concludes the 100 Days of Summer HEAT (Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic) initiative.

 

Agencies that are part of the 5^th and 11^th judicial circuits’ Law Enforcement Networks (LENs) joined SCDPS on Friday to inform the public about enforcement efforts in the Midlands. The news conference on Lake Murray Boulevard (SC 60) at the border of Richland and Lexington counties was immediately followed by a multi-jurisdictional public safety checkpoint.

 

Lexington County Sheriff James R. Metts said his agency and others in the 11th Circuit LEN regularly conduct scheduled and unscheduled public safety checkpoints as part of the SOS enforcement campaign that SCDPS coordinates. The goal of the checkpoints is to curb the number of alcohol-related crashes and enhance motorists’ compliance with traffic laws.

 

“Public safety checkpoints and other programs conducted by the 11th Circuit Law Enforcement Network make roads safer in Lexington, Edgefield, McCormick and Saluda counties,” Metts said. “We know from experience that checkpoints and other high-visibility enforcement and educational programs enhance traffic safety and save lives.”

 

Sober or Slammer efforts throughout South Carolina mirror those of law enforcement and highway safety agencies in each state across the nation. The national “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.” mobilization, organized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is a comprehensive impaired driving prevention program that focuses on combining high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness through advertising and publicity.

 

“The Sober or Slammer Labor Day Campaign is one more example of law enforcement working together to make South Carolina a safer place,” said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, whose agency is part of the 5th Circuit LEN. “Sober or Slammer should serve as a reminder to citizens that they have to do their part to reduce drunken driving, traffic collisions and fatalities on our roadways.”

 

In South Carolina, the SOS campaign concludes the 100 Days of Summer HEAT initiative, which began Memorial Day and ends Labor Day. SCDPS, working in conjunction with local law enforcement across the state, focuses its efforts on reducing injuries and saving lives through the use of public safety checkpoints and saturation patrols in those areas identified as “high crash corridors,” and through a concentrated educational campaign using television and ads to inform motorists of the Sober or Slammer campaign.

 

“Unfortunately, driving under the influence of alcohol continues to be a troublesome problem in our state,” said James K. Schweitzer, Director of SCDPS. “Through stepped-up law enforcement activities and these television ads, we are hopeful motorists will get the message that driving drunk is foolish, dangerous and most importantly, illegal.”

 

The SOS television ads focus on the legal and personal consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol.

 

Also, the SC Department of Transportation will allow use of its electronic message boards on highways around the state to display a DUI enforcement message. Overhead and portable message boards are scheduled to display “DUI Crackdown in Progress” between 9 a.m. and 2 a.m. on August 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31 and September 1 and 3.

 

During the SOS campaign, between August 26 and 31, SCDPS will participate in Hands Across the Border (HATB), a series of enforcement and media events involving state and local law enforcement agencies from South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina.  HATB is an annual event and an integral part of SOS leading up to Labor Day. HATB events include media briefings, news conferences and checkpoints. Media are invited to attend all activities and urged to take the message to the public.

 

“Law enforcement will continue to create awareness and conduct enforcement efforts,” Lott said. “But we cannot do it without each citizen becoming involved in the solutions.”