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Hazelwood Police to Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint Dec. 10-11 within City Limits

The Hazelwood Police Department will be conducting a DWI Sobriety Checkpoint during the weekend of Dec. 10-11 within the city limits.  Although the holiday season is a time of celebration, the police department reminds people to keep the party off the road by not driving while they’re intoxicated.

Enforcement efforts will be enhanced during this year’s Holiday Impaired Driving Campaign, Dec. 6-12, to keep roads and highways safe for local motorists, announced Hazelwood Police Chief Carl Wolf.

Law enforcement throughout North County  will be stepping up the fight against drunk driving after receiving a grant to purchase a Breath Alcohol Testing (BAT) van. The BAT van provides for faster evaluation and processing of drunk drivers.

“The van helps keep officers on the street to detect more impaired drivers, as opposed to hauling individual arrests in and be off the line for hours while processing at the station,” said Hazelwood Police Department Chief Carl Wolf.

The Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety Division contracted with the Hazelwood Police Department in April 2010 to purchase the BAT van. The van will be shared among the North St. Louis County police departments, including 36 law enforcement agencies.

The BAT van will be used in the statewide holiday impaired driving mobilization this week, Dec. 6-12. Statewide DWI enforcement campaigns are held five times throughout the year on dates selected by the Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Advisory Council (LETSAC) based on holidays with a large number of alcohol-involved social activities.

During the 2009 holiday impaired driving mobilization from Dec. 7-13, law enforcement officers statewide issued 371 driving while intoxicated violations.

“Impaired driving can dampen everyone’s holiday spirit because it leaves a human toll of lost lives.  Families and friends grieve over the loss of their loved ones, and accident victims incur injuries that may require long-term recovery,” said Chief Wolf.

The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety has created a special page on Facebook called the “Human Toll” at facebook.com/humantoll for people to post stories about the effects of impaired driving in hopes that other families will be spared.

For more information, contact Sgt. Timothy Burger, Special Operations Group and Traffic Management Team for the Hazelwood Police Department, at (314) 513-5228 or visit the website, www.saveMOlives.com.

MoDOT Grant Helps Florissant Police Stop Drunk Drivers

The Florissant Police Department received a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Division for participation in the “You Drink & Drive. You Lose.” Campaign to stop people from driving impaired this holiday season.  Enforcement efforts will be increased this week through Sunday, Dec. 12 and will focus on reducing deaths and serious injuries caused by impaired drivers.

Consider some of the consequences if you are caught driving while intoxicated:

• For the first conviction (or first conviction in over five years), your license will be suspended for 30 days followed by a 60-day suspension if a hardship license is not obtained.

• A second conviction results in a $1,000 fine, a yearlong revocation of your license and up to a year in jail.  You will also be required to install an ignition interlock system on your vehicle, preventing your car from starting when you have alcohol on your breath.

•  Third and subsequent convictions can be penalized with up to a $5,000 fine, a 10-year license denial, and/or up to seven years in jail.

•  If you cause a fatal crash while intoxicated you could be charged with Involuntary Manslaughter, a felony resulting in up to seven years of jail time, a $5,000 fine or both.

In 2009, 280 people were killed, 1,140 seriously injured and 3,719 received minor injuries in crashes involving an impaired driver.

To learn more about impaired driving, visit www.saveMOlives.com.

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