State police will be heavily patrolling highways for the Fourth of July weekend to deter drunk driving.
“Our holiday period begins at 6 p.m. on July 2 and runs through midnight on Sunday, July 5,” said Lt. Shawn Garner of the Arkansas State Police. “Troop K will be holding saturation and sobriety checkpoint locations” throughout the area.
Troop K of the Arkansas State Police covers an area of seven counties: Clark, Hot Spring, Grant, Garland, Pike, Polk and Montgomery.
Taking a “no tolerance” stance against drinking and driving, Troop K plans to saturate their patrol, meaning that several troopers will be stationed along a stretch of highway and watching for drivers who seem to be under the influence of alcohol. If a trooper sees someone barely pass over the yellow or white line, a traffic stop will be made.
Garner would not disclose any locations where checkpoints will be held, but warned those who plan to drive after having a few drinks. “For those that drive while intoxicated, there are numerous ones who aren’t caught, but it’s inevitable that, if you continue to do it, you’re going to get caught eventually.” He said there will be between 30-40 checkpoints in the seven-county district.
For those who decide to celebrate the holiday by drinking, police urge them to find a responsible adult to be a designated driver.
In Arkansas, drunk driving has had staggering results in motor vehicle fatalities. The most recent statistics Garner could provide were from 2007, when 276 of the 650 total deaths were the result of a drunk driver. “That totals out to be 42 percent of the fatalities,” he said.
Since January, in Troop K’s district, 368 people have been arrested for DWI. Post 3 of Troop K — which includes Clark, Hot Spring and Garland counties — 128 people have been arrested for DWI.
For more statistics, visit the ASP Web site at www.asp.ar.gov.
Getting caught behind the wheel after having drinks could put a damper on not only the holiday, but also the wallet. If a driver fails a field sobriety test or registers a blood alcohol content of 0.08, he or she will be arrested, spend a night in jail, lose driving privileges and face a stiff fine. For the first DWI offense, a fine no less than $150 and no more than $1,000 will be imposed — along with having a driver’s license revoked for 120 days.
For underage drinkers, the first DUI offense could result in a fine of $100-500 and the loss of driver’s license for 90 days. A blood alcohol content of 0.02 constitutes a DUI. Minors who register above 0.08 will be charged with DWI.
“We’re going to be aggressively looking for intoxicated or impaired drivers,” Garner said. “And we’re going to be doing this by using saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints. We also have federal funding to pay officers overtime, so we will have officers on the streets working and focusing on DWI enforcement.”
ASP has been long involved in the campaign against drunk driving. Educational programs are presented at school districts and other agencies. ASP is also involved with the federally funded and maintained “You Drink, You Drive, You Lose” campaign.
These campaigns have brought about some success, said Garner. “We always have a lot of people out and about and at the lake, but we are seeing a lot more people at our sobriety checkpoints using designated drivers. However, there are those individuals who haven’t learned — who think they won’t get caught. If you do continue to drive impaired, it’s going to catch up with you.”
Clark County Sheriff David Turner said extra deputies will be patrolling the area — “especially on the Fourth of July night.” He said deputies will also be patrolling on DeGray Lake with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, looking for drunk boat operators.
Arkadelphia Police Chief Al Harris echoed Garner’s comments, adding that police are “far more understanding” when a designated driver is used.
Harris also talked about city ordinances dealing with fireworks. “The local ordinance says they can’t be fired or shot in the fire district, which is basically downtown.” Harris noted that the Arkadelphia Police Department is “laid back” when it comes to people celebrating with fireworks in residential areas, River Park or in open spaces.
“People need to remember that it is dry and we don’t need to start any grass fires or anything similar. Exercise a little judgment before you start shooting. Also, we ask that people cease and desist after 10 p.m.” If police do receive a complaint about fireworks before that time, however, officers will respond and, upon finding the person shooting fireworks and ask them to either stop or go elsewhere.
Picking up the remains is also important, Harris said. “It would be nice if people who shoot a large volume of fireworks if they would pick up their trash.”
Safety is another important topic. “Adults need to supervise the youngsters shooting fireworks,” said Harris. “Fireworks can be pretty dangerous to anybody ... Basically, we want everyone to have a safe holiday.”