The Sewanee Police Department partners with the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office each year to step up DUI enforcement on the days surrounding the Labor Day holiday. This year, the dates are Aug. 19 to Sept. 7. Because of this collaborative work in the past, the Sewanee Police Department was awarded a new Ford Focus patrol car in late August.
Sewanee Police Chief Marie Eldridge cited officer Tony Gilliam’s careful work in this effort. Gilliam “has kept track of all the department’s participation in such activities as roadblock DUI checks, seatbelt checks and the “Booze It or Lose It” program,” Eldridge said. The patrol vehicle was one of three awarded by the Governor’s Highway Safety Office in a random drawing of all participating departments.
Tennessee experienced 6,645 known alcohol-related crashes in 2014, which means an average of 18 people each day get behind the wheel after they have been drinking and cause an accident.
A single DUI conviction can cost an individual $5,000 or more, in addition to jail time. Offenders could also be required to attend drug and alcohol treatment or to install an ignition interlock device in their vehicle.
“Too many people think their actions don’t affect anyone else,” Eldridge said. “They know it’s illegal. They know it’s wrong. But they do it anyway; they make decisions as if those statistics just can’t happen to them.”
The “Booze It and Lose It” campaign is part of a national effort to prevent drunk driving. Increased state and national messaging about the dangers of driving drunk aim to reduce the toll of drunk driving. For more information visit <www.tntrafficsafety.org>.
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