If you drink and drive in Baxter County beware.  The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office is joining with law enforcement throughout the nation for the “Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign August 17^th to September 3^rd.

     This nationwide impaired driving crackdown will include high-visibility enforcement, saturation patrols, and sobriety checkpoints through the Labor Day holiday weekend.  Sheriff’s Deputies will be aggressively looking for impaired drivers and will arrest anyone who violates the Arkansas Omnibus DWI Law or the State’s Underage DUI Law.

     It is illegal in all 50 states to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 grams per deciliter.  Despite these laws, in 2010 more than 10,000 people died in crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was impaired.  Research has shown that high-visibility enforcement like the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign reduces alcohol-impaired driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent.  By joining this nationwide effort, the Sheriff’s Office will make our roadways safer for everyone throughout the Labor Day period.

     Violators face jail time, loss of driver license, and steep financial consequences such as stiff fines, higher insurance rates, attorney fees, court costs, and lost time from work.  Driving impaired is simply not worth the risk, so don’t take the chance.  For more information, visit the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign headquarters at www.nhtsa.gov/drivesober.

/s/ John F. Montgomery,
Baxter County Sheriff