Sober or Slammer Campaign drawing to close with Labor Day

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety is focused on impaired driving enforcement as the summer winds down. On Aug. 20, the department began a partnership with local law enforcement agencies across the state during the annual Sober or Slammer impaired driving crackdown that runs through the end of Labor Day, Sept. 7. The campaign includes high visibility enforcement and public education efforts aimed at curbing collisions and fatalities. Since Memorial Day, 218 people have died on South Carolina roadways in traffic crashes, which is up from last summer when there were 181 people killed during the same period. The latest DUI statistics show that 335 people died on South Carolina roadways in 2013 as a result of an alcohol-involved crash. SCDPS recently announced a new Target Zero Team of 24 troopers who will work 16 of the deadliest stretches of roadways in the state. DUI is one of the primary focuses of this dedicated, proactive enforcement push. In advance of the Labor Day holiday weekend, the department is using SCDOT message boards that will display “Statewide DUI Crackdown in Progress” bulletins, urging the motoring public to report drunk drivers by calling *HP or *47. Last year, law enforcement officers in South Carolina, including troopers, made more than 23,000 DUI arrests.