Wyoming Highway Patrol: This Labor Day, drive sober or get pulled over

During the Labor Day holiday period, including the end of summertime and the busy holiday weekend, Wyoming law enforcement will be working to decrease impaired driving. Through September 4, officers, deputies, and troopers will take part in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over high visibility enforcement event. No matter how you plan to celebrate the end of the season this year, make sure you plan it safely.

According to NHTSA, 13,384 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2021; that’s one person every 39 minutes. On average, more than 11,000 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes nationwide each year from 2017 to 2021. During 2022 in Wyoming 61 people were killed in vehicle crashes involving impaired drivers. Those 61 deaths represented 45% of all traffic fatalities in Wyoming during 2022.

The Wyoming Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies to remind drivers that drunk driving is not only illegal; it’s a matter of life and death. As you head out to festivities during the end of summer and Labor Day weekend, remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

“We want our community members to understand that it’s our first priority to keep people safe, so we’re asking everyone to plan ahead if they know they’ll be out drinking,” said Colonel Tim Cameron. “The Drive Sober campaign is an awareness effort to get the message out that drunk driving is illegal and it takes lives. Let’s make this a partnership between law enforcement and drivers: Help us protect the community and put an end to this senseless behavior,” Colonel Cameron said.

During the 2021 Labor Day holiday period there were 531 crash fatalities nationwide. Of these 531 traffic crash fatalities, 41% involved a drunk driver, and more than a quarter (27%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Among drivers between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2021, 48% of those drivers were drunk, with BACs of .08 or higher. 

Wyoming law enforcement would like to remind everyone that there are plenty of options for impaired drivers to get home safely:

- Take public transportation or find someone else to drive you home. Don't risk hurting yourself or others by getting behind the wheel when you've been drinking.

- Use ride-share services like Lyft or Uber instead of driving yourself home after a night out.

- If you see a suspected drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement immediately.

 

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Release Contact: Lieutenant Kyle McKay/307-777-4303