Preventing impaired driving crashes

JACKSON, Wyo. (KIFI) - Drunk driving is dangerous and can lead to serious consequences, including death.

During the remainder of August and over the busy Labor Day holiday weekend, Wyoming law enforcement will be working to decrease impaired driving. From now through September 5, officers, deputies and troopers will participate in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement event. No matter how you plan to celebrate the end of the season this year, make sure you plan it safely.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 11,654 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2020 that involved an alcohol-impaired driver. In 2020 in Wyoming, 30 percent of motor vehicle crashes involving alcohol-impaired drivers were fatal.

If you're going to drink alcohol at all, do so responsibly. The Wyoming Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies want you to know that drinking and driving is never a good idea.

During the 2020 Labor Day holiday period, there were 530 crash fatalities nationwide. Forty-six percent of those fatalities involved drivers who had been drinking (.01+ BAC). More than one-third (38%) of the fatalities involved drivers who were drunk (.08+ BAC), and one-fourth (25%) involved drivers who were driving with a BAC almost twice the legal limit (.15+ BAC). Age is a particularly risky factor: Among drivers between the ages of 21 and 34 who were killed in crashes over the Labor Day holiday period in 2020, 44% of those drivers were drunk, with BACs of .08 or higher.

Wyoming law enforcement recommends these safe alternatives instead of drinking and driving:

• 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.