18/08/2022
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) for its “Booze It and Lose It” campaign from August 17 to September 5, surrounding the Labor Day holiday. This initiative coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” mobilization to increase impaired-driving enforcement nationwide.
Our Office will have saturation patrols, which are increases of patrol deputies to a high-incident area looking for traffic violations such as driving while impaired, distracted driving, reckless driving, and speeding. Saturation patrols may be selected on criteria such as areas where traffic crashes tend to occur or where crash numbers have increased. Other factors for saturation areas may be driven by complaints by our citizens or school zones.
“There’s absolutely no excuse for any driver who is under even the slightest influence of alcohol, medication that may impair your ability to drive, or illegal drugs, to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. This is not a new message; it’s the same message that has been put out for decades. Failing to take the advice of this message continues to put our innocent families and friends who travel up and down our roads in danger of life altering injuries, or losing their life. Our Deputies, along with our local and state law enforcement partners will be out in force during this year’s Booze It and Lose It campaign. Our mission is simple, find impaired drivers and get them off our roads, and bring them to jail. Our advice is also simple, if you drink or are under the influence of a prescription or illegal drug, DON’T DRIVE! If you choose to ignore this advice, we will be waiting for you with a pair of bracelets and an uncomfortable night’s stay in the Montgomery County Jail,” said Sheriff John Fuson.
Increased state and national messaging about the dangers of drunk driving, coupled with increased sobriety checkpoints and high visibility enforcement, aim to drastically reduce the number of drunk-driving crashes, injuries, and fatalities this year.
The consequences of a single DUI conviction for a first-time offender in the state of Tennessee may include costly fines, court costs, legal fees, jail time, mandatory drug and alcohol treatment, and/or the installation of an ignition interlock device in his/her vehicle.
The THSO provides grant funding to support the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office increased enforcement efforts during the Booze It and Lose It campaign.