Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over: Sherborn Police Launches Intensive Crackdown on Impaired Driving

The is joining 128 other law enforcement agencies statewide in support of a more intensive crackdown on impaired driving from August 15 to September 3 as part of the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over mobilization, funded by a federal grant administered through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division (EOPSS-HSD).

“Our message is simple and unwavering: if we find you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions,” Lt. David Bento said.

Impaired driving is one of America’s most often committed and deadliest crimes, and the number of drivers operating under the influence increases during holiday weekends, especially during the summer holidays. On average, there is one alcohol impaired driving-related fatality every 51 minutes across America.

In 2010, 115 people died in impaired driving related crashes in the Commonwealth. Moreover, there were an additional 2,750 impaired driving related personal injury and property crashes and almost 14,635 impaired driving arrests.

“All too often, innocent, law-abiding people suffer tragic consequences and the loss of loved ones due to this careless disregard for human life,” Sgt. Luke Tedstone said. “Because we’re committed to highway safety, we are intensifying enforcement during the crackdown. Since twice as many alcohol-impaired crashes occur over the weekend and four times as many occur at night, we will be especially vigilant during these high-risk times when impaired drivers are most likely to be on the roads.”

According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, violators often face jail time, loss of their driver licenses or being sentenced to use ignition interlocks. Their insurance rates go up. Other financial hits include attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work and the potential of job or job prospects. All told, a first offense can easily cost over $5,000.

“Even if you beat the odds and manage to walk away from an impaired-driving crash alive, the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can still destroy your life,” Bento said.