Hazelwood Police Target Impaired

Drivers with Sobriety Checkpoints

Members of the Hazelwood Police Department will be conducting numerous high-visibility DWI sobriety checkpoints throughout the City this upcoming summer. The first checkpoint is scheduled for the weekend of June 10. Several other checkpoints have been scheduled for July and August with plans to supplement them with saturation patrols.

This effective nationwide drunk driving crackdown will be supported by national paid advertising, creating a comprehensive campaign to reduce the number of impaired drivers on local streets and highways.

Police Chief Gregg Hall said Hazelwood Police Officers will be aggressively looking for drunk drivers during the crackdown and will arrest intoxicated drivers. “Every year, about one-third of all motor vehicle traffic deaths involve one or more impaired drivers or motorcycle operators,” said Chief Hall. “Research has shown that high-visibility enforcement like sobriety checkpoints reduce drunken driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent. By joining this nationwide effort, we will make Hazelwood’s roadways safer for everyone. We will continue to encourage drivers to make a simple, smart choice to drive sober,” he added.

Chief Hall noted that being arrested for driving drunk brings a wide range of negative consequences into one’s life. Drunk drivers face jail time, loss of their driver’s license, and steep financial consequences such as higher insurance rates, attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of employment. When family, friends and co-workers find out, violators often face personal embarrassment.

“Driving drunk is simply not worth the risk, so don’t take the chance. Remember, we will be out in force and we will be watching, so drive sober,” advised Chief Hall.

Funding for this effort was provided through a grant from the Missouri Department of   Transportation’s Highway Safety Division.

For more information, visit saveMOlives.com.

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