Berrien County Sheriff’s Office 2022 Holiday – Drive Sober Or Get Pulled Over

Berrien County, MI – December 13, 2022

As the busy holiday season begins, a reminder to drivers to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”
Berrien County, Michigan

During the Christmas and New Year’s holiday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is working alongside the law enforcement community in Berrien County to decrease impaired driving.

From December 16, 2022, through January 1, 2023, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office, Chikaming Township Police Department, and Saint Joseph City Department of Public Safety will be participating in the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement period. In support of the law enforcement community’s dedication to protecting the lives of local residents, you will see officers working together to take impaired drivers off the roads. Officers will be on the lookout for motorists under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol throughout the
enforcement period. In Michigan, it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, although motorists can be arrested at any BAC level if an officer believes they are impaired.

In 2021, nearly 47 percent of fatalities on Michigan roadways involved alcohol and/or drugs, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. Over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday periods from 2017 to 2021, there were 78 drivers killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in Michigan. In those crashes, 27 of the drivers killed were alcohol-impaired.

“We want to support our community by keeping it safe from impaired drivers,” said Berrien
County Sheriff L. Paul Bailey. “The bottom line is that no matter what the substance is, if it has impaired you, you should not be driving. We want everyone to enjoy the holidays. Please commit to yourself and your community members that you’ll drive sober each and every day.

Also, in Michigan:
– Over the 2021 Christmas and New Year’s holiday period, 11 people died in crashes.
– In 2021, 32% of fatal crashes involved a drinking motor vehicle operator, pedestrian, or
bicyclist, and 24 percent of fatal crashes involved drugs.
– In 2021, one person was killed in an alcohol-involved crash every 25 hours.

The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign is supported with federal traffic safety funds
provided by the United States Department of Transportation and NHTSA and coordinated by the OHSP.

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