BERRIEN COUNTY — The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office is partnering with the Office of Highway Safety Planning and 93 law enforcement agencies during the National “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which runs from July 1 to July 14.

The Berrien County Sheriff’s Office will have extra deputies patrolling the roadways in Berrien County during this time period. The extra deputies will make it a priority to enforce drunk and/or drugged driving laws. 

This “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign is about saving lives, not writing citations, which is why it is widely publicized, said Berrien County officials.

The extra enforcement is paid for with federal funds administered by the Office of Highway Safety Planning. 

While local residents celebrate the Fourth of July, deputies warned that individuals should not drive if they are impaired by any substance or feel different. Additionally, driving while high could result in a driving while impaired charge.

According to statistics provided by the Office of Highway Safety Planning, Michigan averages 18 traffic fatalities per year for the Fourth of July holiday. In 2018, there were seven traffic fatalities over the Fourth of July holiday, with at least one crash involving alcohol.   According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, approximately one-third of all traffic crash fatalities in the U.S. involve drunk drivers with blood alcohol concentrations of .08 or higher. 

In 2017, one person was killed every 48 minutes by a drunk driver on our U.S. roads.

Men are more likely than women to be driving drunk in fatal crashes. In 2017, 21 percent of men were drunk in these crashes, compared to 14 percent of women. 

Of the traffic fatalities in 2017 among children 14 and younger, 19 percent occurred in alcohol-impaired driving crashes. 

According to statistics provided by the Michigan State Police, there were 9,786 alcohol-involved crashes with 315 alcohol-involved fatalities in 2018. 

There were 2,636 drug-involved crashes and 247 drug-involved fatalities statewide in 2018. 

The number of fatal crashes involving drivers testing positive for cannabinoid drugs have nearly doubled since 2013. 

Michigan law considers persons with a BAC of .08 or greater to be driving drunk, although motorists can be arrested at any BAC level if an officer believes they are impaired. 

According to the NHTSA, laboratory and on-road research shows most drivers are significantly impaired at a BAC of .08 with regards to critical driving tasks such as braking, steering, lane changing, judgment and divided attention. 

Michigan’s drunk driving law contains a zero-tolerance provision for drivers with certain illegal drugs in their system. Prosecutors do not have to prove the driver was impaired, just that they were driving with those drugs in their system. The same penalties for drunk driving will apply to those convicted under the zero tolerance drug provisions.