The Labor Day weekend traditionally signals the end of summer and often involves one last road trip for the year with the family.
Regrettably, it also involves a high rate of drunk driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2013, the most recent year in which data is available, there were 424 crash fatalities nationwide over the three-day Labor Day weekend. Almost half of those fatal crashes involved drivers who had been drinking and 27 percent of those drivers had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .15 or higher — nearly twice the legal limit of .08. In the same time period, four people were killed in crashes in Iowa, 25 percent of those were alcohol related.
Law enforcement agencies across Iowa and the nation will be stepping up enforcement to save lives this Labor Day weekend. The motoring public will notice more officers and increased safety messaging. The new SaferRide mobile app (free from the Apple iTunes store and Google Play) can help users call a taxi or a friend for a ride home. The app can even help you identify your location so you can be picked up. If you know you will be drinking plan how you will get home afterward.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau (GTBS) Chief Patrick Hoye said, “Help us keep Iowa’s highway’s safe this holiday by not drinking and driving.”
The Iowa DPS and the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau reminds you that, “Driving sober is not just a recommendation, it’s the law!”