With New Year’s Eve celebrations set for Saturday night, law enforcement will be out in force. Beginning tonight, officers will be patrolling the streets looking for at-risk drivers.
“We are not trying to discourage people from having a good time,” said Police Lt. Mark Mara. “Have a good time, but line up a designated driver if those plans include alcohol and travel.”
McMinnville Police Department will be coordinating efforts with Warren County Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Highway Patrol with saturation patrols today through Sunday.
Law enforcement will be looking for “at-risk drivers” who exhibit signs they may be driving under the influence (DUI). Indications of driving while intoxicated include weaving, swerving, following too closely, drifting, braking erratically, slow response to traffic signals, and accelerating or decelerating rapidly.
It’s all hands on deck this holiday season for patrol officers as Mara says their plans will be to protect the community from intoxicated drivers.
“We have to work on New Years,” he said. “While individuals in the community are planning their celebrations, we will be on the streets making sure everyone gets where they are going safely. We will be everywhere.”
Highly motivated and trained officers comprise the team conducting saturation patrols. The officers have been trained to administer standardized field sobriety tests to determine if a driver is impaired.
Saturation patrols are designed to make highways safer and to increase public awareness of the hazards of drinking and driving. By removing intoxicated drivers from the roadways, officers can decrease the potential for motor vehicle accidents, says Mara.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver each day. It amounts to one death every 48 minutes.
The idea behind announcing saturated patrols and roadblocks in advance is to prevent impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel in the first place as opposed to catching them on the road.
McMinnville Police Department’s saturation operation is called “Be A Survivor: Get A Designated Driver” and receives funding from the Tennessee Governors Highway Safety Office to help pay the expense of saturation patrols.
McMinnville Police Department held saturation patrols during every major holiday last year, including Super Bowl Sunday.
“During our saturation efforts, we only had one accident involving DUI,” said Mara.