LUCAS COUNTY, OH (Toledo News Now) -
The ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' campaign kicked off Friday. More than 600 agencies across the country are teaming up to reduce drunk driving crashes.
All law enforcement agencies in Lucas County are involved.
It's an 18-day campaign. There will be increased law enforcement on the roads, and agencies will strategically plan four different DUI checkpoints to crack down on drivers.
In 2012, 51 percent of the fatal accidents in Lucas County were alcohol or drug related, and 18 people died as a result.
"Innocent people die. It's not always the impaired driver who dies in a crash," said Gwen Neundorfer, with Lucas County Traffic Safety. "Often, it's the person who was minding their own business and not doing anything wrong that pays the price."
The areas where law enforcement will conduct the checkpoints is based on statistics – wherever there have been fatal accidents or drunk driving arrests in the past.
"Our goal, obviously, is to reduce fatalities," said Det. Mark Woodruff, of the Lucas County DUI Task Force. "Fatalities in Ohio are finally at a lower number than they've been in years, so we're obviously doing something right."
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