Area police crack down on drunk drivers

TIPPECANOE COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI) - Area law enforcement agencies will be spending hundreds of hours of extra time on the roads to crack down on drunk or impaired driving.

It's the annual 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' campaign, an effort to cut down on the more than 10,000 deaths that occur from impaired driving in the United States, a rate of one every 51 minutes. 

A federal grant will help pay overtime to Lafayette, West Lafayette, and Purdue officers as well as Tippecanoe County deputies to look for impaired drivers beginning Friday August 17 through the Labor Day weekend.    

"With Purdue coming back in session, a lot of our guys will be tied up in calls for service, so anybody extra we can have to make traffic stops to get those impaired drivers is going to be beneficial to the public," said Sgt. Jason Philhower with the West Lafayette Police.

According to statistics provided by Lafayette police, last year's crackdown led to 141 felony DUIs and more than 13,465 citations statewide.  There were also Labor Day holiday period of September 26, there were 111 alcohol-related crashes statewide where a driver was impaired. 

Among 18 to 34-year-old drivers killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide, during the 2010 Labor Day weekend, 54 percent were alcohol-impaired.