Valparaiso Police Department Announces Participation in Nationwide Crackdown on Impaired Driving

valpopoliceBeginning August 19th, Valparaiso Police officers will be aggressively looking for impaired drivers on Valparaiso roadways.

Agency officials today announced that they would join more than 260 Indiana law enforcement agencies to crackdown on impaired drivers. The campaign continues through September 5.

While Indiana has seen a decline in alcohol-related collisions over the past five years, there are those who continue to drive impaired. In fact, of the more than 400 alcohol-related collisions on Indiana roadways in 2010, nearly 40 percent resulted in death or injury.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), statistics show that twice as many alcohol-impaired collisions occur over the weekend. That incidence increases significantly during the nighttime. Because of the increased risk, Valparaiso Police Department will be specifically conducting their high-visibility enforcement activities during these times.

Since we know when impaired drivers are more likely to be on the road, we’ll have an even greater number of officers out during these times,” said Sgt. Michael Grennes.

According to the most recent data from NHTSA, nearly a third of the nation’s traffic-related motor vehicle fatalities involved a driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol content of more than .08 – an average of one fatality every 48 minutes.

For more information, visit NHTSA’s High-Visibility Enforcement Campaign Headquarters at www.StopImpairedDriving.org.