Stepped Up DUI Enforcement Planned for St. Patrick's Day Weekend

3/14/2013

March 14, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Metro police officers, along with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, are planning a sobriety checkpoint for late Friday night on Lebanon Pike in the Hermitage area.  The checkpoint is among the special DUI-related enforcement strategies that will be in effect this weekend in recognition that St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and parties are sometimes accompanied by excessive drinking.
          
Other strategies include the Saturday night/early Sunday deployment of an eight-member team of extra-duty officers being paid through a grant from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office.  They will be specifically looking for impaired, aggressive, distracted and/or speeding motorists.  On Sunday evening, St. Patrick’s Day, a seven-member team of extra-duty grant funded officers will be on the streets concentrating on DUI and traffic enforcement.  They will be supplemented by a four-member team of officers who will specifically concentrate on the downtown area Sunday evening.
          
Last year, 26 persons were arrested in Nashville for DUI between 3 p.m. March 17th and 6 a.m. March 18th.  In 2011, 19 persons were arrested during that same time period compared to 37 in 2010.
          
“Drunken driving is the true stranger crime that is most likely to seriously injure or kill innocent persons,” Chief Steve Anderson said.  “The stepped up enforcement efforts this weekend are designed to encourage driver responsibility and accountability while enhancing the safety of Nashville’s families and visitors.”
          
Chief Anderson said the best ways for those drinking at parties and celebrations this weekend to avoid a trip to jail are to appoint a designated driver or take advantage of Sheriff Daron Hall’s Sober Ride Program which will operate at 3rd Avenue & Broadway beginning at 9 p.m. both Friday and Saturday nights.

###