The Tennessee Highway Patrol will conduct a “no refusal” traffic safety enforcement campaign over the New Year’s holiday period, according to The Associated Press.
The state statute regarding “no refusal” allows law enforcement officials to seek search warrants for blood samples in cases involving suspected impaired drivers.
The enforcement period began at 12:01 a.m. today and ends at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
State troopers will perform saturation patrols; seat belt, sobriety and driver’s license checkpoints; and bar/tavern checks during the holiday.
During last year’s New Year’s holiday period, officials say, 16 people were killed in traffic crashes on Tennessee roadways. Of the 16 fatalities, 15 were vehicle occupants and one was a pedestrian. Alcohol was involved in six of the deaths, while seven people killed were not wearing seat belts.
In Bradley County, the sheriff’s office is taking a “zero tolerance” stance against impaired drivers around the holiday, Sheriff Eric Watson says.
“It’s common knowledge that impaired driving, whether by drugs or alcohol, leads to death and injury far too often,” Watson said in a news release.
“That is why our officers will be on high alert during the next few days, and into the start of 2015, for those who get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs or alcohol. There is just no excuse for this behavior.”
Watson said the “simple solution to this problem is zero tolerance. If you drink and drive, or if you’re impaired in any way, you can expect to be placed in the back seat cage of a patrol car, en route to jail.”
He also warned against text-ing, phoning and other distractions while driving, and reminded drivers that they must have proof of insurance on the roads.
And Georgia authorities in Atlanta are urging holiday revelers to avoid drunken driving as they close out 2014 and welcome the new year.
Harris Blackwood, director of the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said there’s no excuse for partygoers not to designate a sober driver in their group ahead of time or line up a taxi or other safe ride.
The state also is pushing those with smartphones to download the “Drive Sober, Georgia” app that identifies sober ride options for those who don’t plan ahead.
If all else fails, Blackwood said, just arrange to stay the night wherever you are ringing in 2015.
Last year, between Nov. 20 and Dec. 31, drunken drivers in Georgia caused 1,143 traffic collisions that yielded 684 injuries and 18 deaths, records show.