Muskogee County Agencies Team up to ENDUI this NYE

Oklahoma Department of Public Safety sent this bulletin at 12/28/2018 02:00 PM CST

Muskogee County Agencies
Team up to ENDUI this NYE

It's almost time to ring in the new year, which usually means a toast at midnight. Before you start reveling, make sure you plan ahead to have a sober ride home.

Members of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol's ENDUI team will partner with the Muskogee County Sheriff's Office, Muscogee-Creek Nation Lighthorse Police, and the Muskogee Police Department to conduct a sobriety checkpoint and high-visibility patrols across the county.

The high-visibility patrols will start in the early evening hours of New Year's Eve and will continue through the checkpoint and well into the New Year.

The checkpoint will be held in Muskogee from 9:30 p.m. 12/31 through midnight 1/1.

“It is never a good time to drink and drive but it is especially important during the holiday season," said Muskogee Police Chief Johnny Teehee. "We want everyone to have a good time, but if you do drink, make sure you have a designated driver to get you home."

FOR RELEASE

December 28, 2018

MEDIA CONTACT

Trooper Zachary Woods
Zachary.Woods@dps.ok.gov (405) 990-7364

These activities are part of the nationwide "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign, which happens twice each year. This campaign is meant to make the roads safer for everyone traveling during the holiday season by getting impaired drivers off the roads.

"The last thing we want is for an intoxicated driver to either hurt themselves or someone else during holiday season while they have been out celebrating with their family and friends,” said Teehee.

As a part of the "Drive Sober" campaign, the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office (OHSO) is offering a $10 off Uber coupon for anyone who will use it. With the abundance of ride-share services in Oklahoma, there is no reason for someone to drive under the influence. By offering these discount codes, the OHSO hopes to increase the number of people using a sober driver to get home and decrease the number of people killed in crashes across the state. To sign up for the code, click here.

There is absolutely no reason for impaired driving collisions to happen. If you are drinking, have a plan to get home safe.

In 2017, 656 people were killed in crashes in Oklahoma; almost half of those (324) were killed in drug/alcohol-related crashes. This is up from 43 percent killed in drug/alcohol-related crashes in 2016 in Oklahoma.

Everyone is highly encouraged to find a safe ride by calling a sober driver, using a cab, Uber, Lyft or any other ride-share service. Better yet, have a designated driver. Have fun and enjoy life, but do not, under any circumstances, drive while impaired by alcohol or any other substance. The cost is too high. Let’s ENDUI.

The media is invited to attend this checkpoint to help us raise awareness about the impaired driving problem in Oklahoma. Interviews with members of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol will be available. To coordinate times, locations, and interviews, please email Zachary.Woods@dps.ok.gov.

The ENDUI enforcement team coordinates multi-jurisdictional events on a regular basis, including sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. These efforts are needed to impact Oklahoma’s impaired driving problem across the state. The locations of these activities are driven by data from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and by local request.

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The ENDUI Oklahoma program is a program of the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and is funded through impaired driving grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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Muskogee County Agencies Team up to ENDUI this NYE

Muskogee County AgenciesTeam up to ENDUI this NYE

FOR RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT

The ENDUI Oklahoma program is a program of the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and is funded through impaired driving grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Muskogee County Agencies
Team up to ENDUI this NYE