SHAWANO, WI- Friday kicks off the annual Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.
It is a law enforcement effort to crack down on impaired driving that tends to take place during the holiday season.
“Generally there is a lot more travel during this time of year and alcohol is used a little bit more so the stats show that there are more crashes around the holiday season,” said Shawano County Sheriff Adam Bieber.
In Wisconsin in 2020, there has been an increase in traffic fatalities from impaired driving, and that is the first time that that happened in the last three years.
“The deaths are up now this year and initially, they were down, but as the year went on, traffic deaths went up, so we don’t expect that to be a downturn this time of year, we hope it is, but we need to be prepared.
Sheriff Bieber says they see the same trends in Shawano County, and they will be out enforcing during the campaign.
“We will put more deputies out there,” Bieber said. “We are going to make sure that we have more staff on duty to try to reduce or at least be responsive to these types of crashes. Christmas parties are not happening as much as in previous years, but we know drinking is still going on.
He says it is expected that travel and the number of people in a party atmosphere may be down from past years due to COVID.
Bieber says the message is pretty simple.
“Find a sober driver no matter where you are going.”
He says traditionally, Shawano County bars and taverns have offered plenty of options to help people get home safely and off the road while impaired.
Sheriff Bieber says the idea is to plan ahead before you decide to party.
LISTEN TO SHAWANO COUNTY SHERIFF ADAM BIEBER TALK ABOUT THIS YEARS SOBER DRIVING CAMPAIGN.
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