Union City Traffic Safety Program

National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention Month

The month of December is designated as "National Drunk & Drugged Driving, (3-D), Prevention Month". Increased efforts to reduce impaired driving has made a dramatic difference in fatalities and injuries since 1982 when this program began.

Even though impaired driving fatalities are at one of the lowest points in years, nearly 16,000 people died because of impaired driving in 1999. Another 300,000 people are injured every year by impaired drivers.

The Union City Police Department along with other area law enforcement will be participating in various law enforcement activities throughout the month. Activities include sobriety checkpoints, increased enforcement, and saturation patrols.

National Holiday Lifesavers Weekend is part of this prevention month and takes place December 15th through the 17th. Our agency will be staging a three day crack-down with increased enforcement.

We have a problem in this country with drunk and drugged driving, and the answer to this problem is simple. Don't drive after drinking or using drugs or certain medications that impair your motor skills. The greatest tragedy of impaired driving is that it is entirely preventable. If individuals would have a designated driver take them home or stay put until they were sober and were safely able to drive, the numbers of deaths, injuries, and arrests related to impaired driving would most certainly be eliminated.

We, as a Police Department, cannot do it alone. In order to make a difference here in Union City, we need everyone's help. First, don't drink and drive. Second, encourage safe driving behaviors among your family, friends, and coworkers. Thirdly, volunteer to be a designated driver or provide a place for someone to stay.

Please support our efforts to rid our streets of impaired drivers. We need encouragement toward continued enforcement of impaired driving laws. Driving laws which are designed to protect your family, friends, and the community at large. Impaired driving is not just a problem for the police, the courts, or the victims but is a problem for all of us.