Deputies emphasize their search for drunk drivers

We’re still in the window of the 100 Deadliest Days and approaching holidays.

On the streets, you will see more patrol cars cracking down on the slogan, “Drive sober or get pulled over.”

“All of our crashes are tied to some sort of speed and inattention, and we have a large number of those that are tied to impaired driving,” said Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office’s, Sgt. Bryan Lovell.

According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, ‘Alcohol is a substance that reduces the function of the brain, impairing thinking, reasoning, and muscle coordination.’ All of which are essential to operating a vehicle safely.

“So when you’re driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol it impairs your ability to obey the speed limit and traffic control devices, it impairs your ability to pay attention to what you need to be paying attention to which is your driving. So because of that, the number of crashes goes up because we have people that are impaired out on the road,” said Sgt. Lovell.

The Idaho Transportation Department and the Office of Highway Safety have partnered with The Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office along with other law enforcement agencies across Idaho to add extra deputies to the streets who will look for those impaired drivers.

We tend to naturally think of drunk driving being limited to cars on the streets, but really any vehicle should not be driven under the influence.

“A lot of things that we deal with in the backcountry are your ATV’s and your boat recreation and watercraft stuff like that,” said Sgt. Lovell.

If you think about getting in the car while you’re buzzed, think again, buzzed driving is drunk driving.

The extra deputies on the streets are funded by a grant by The Idaho Transportation Department.