JACKSON – Kicking off early in anticipation of Labor Day festivities, the Mississippi State Highway Patrol has issued a “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign that will run through the end of the Labor Day weekend. Numerous other law enforcement agencies throughout the state are also participating in the campaign that will focus on the fact that “buzzed driving is drunk driving,” and state, county and local law enforcement will be out with extra patrols and designated checkpoints.
The enhanced enforcement began on Aug. 19 and lasts through Monday.
“We are not anti-alcohol or anti-fun,” said Public Safety Commissioner Albert Santa Cruz. “We are for saving lives. Too many lives are lost due to drunk driving.”
The Clarion Ledger reported that in 2010, alcohol-related deaths in Mississippi were down 12.5 percent to 231 fatalities from 264 in 2009. In the same timeframe, DUIs were up 3.2 percent to 33,153 from 32,099 in 2009.
Additional 2010 Mississippi DUI Statistics taken from the Laurel-Leader Call:
• There were 23,903 Mississippians arrested for DUI. Applying a 28 percent out-of-state arrest rate, the estimate of total arrest is 33,153.
• In the Pine Belt area (Covington, Forrest, Jones, Wayne, Perry and Lamar counties), there were a total of 21 alcohol-related deaths, 9 percent of the state’s total alcohol-related deaths.
• In the Jackson metro area (Hinds, Rankin, Madison, Scott, Warren and Simpson counties), there were 47 alcohol-related deaths, 20 percent of the state’s total alcohol-related deaths.
• In the Gulf Coast area (Pearl River, Harrison, Hancock, Jackson, Stone and George counties), there were 48 alcohol-related deaths, 21 percent of the state’s alcohol-related deaths.
• In Mississippi, the annual cost of traffic crashes was more than $2 billion, about $740 per person.
• Fines assessed for DUI are above $7 million annually.
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