Semi-annual crackdown on drunk driving begins in Virginia

This holiday season, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles’ (DMV) Highway Safety Office is reminding motorists to “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

Law enforcement officers across the country – and Virginia – will be out in full force now through January 1 actively searching for drunk drivers.

“Drunk driving crashes are 100 percent preventable, but innocent people die every day because drivers get behind the wheel after they’ve consumed alcohol,” DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb, the Governor’s Highway Safety Representative was quoted as saying in a news release. “We don’t want a single family to get that terrible news this holiday season.”

Thirteen people died in Virginia crashes during the 2013 Christmas holiday period (December 21-25). Three of the deaths occurred in alcohol-related crashes.

Eleven people died during the 2013 New Year holiday period (December 28-January 1). One of those deaths occurred in an alcohol-related crash.

In all of 2013, 253 people died in alcohol-related crashes in Virginia – that’s 34 percent of all crash fatalities.

“Make a plan before you head out to holiday parties or other festivities,” Holcomb said. “If you think you might drink, select a sober driver or make other arrangements for a safe ride home. Do this before you start drinking so your judgment isn’t impaired.”

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the average DUI case costs $10,000.