CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Clarksville Police Department (CPD) is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) to enhance drunk-driving enforcement from December 15 to January 1, surrounding the holiday season. The statewide Booze It and Lose It campaign is part of a national mobilization to prevent drunk driving.
Officers of the Clarksville Police Department will be out in force in an effort to save lives over the holiday season. Officers will be looking for impaired drivers and taking enforcement action.
The CPD along with Tennessee Highway Patrol and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office will have a checkpoint and saturation patrols on December 30 and 31.
“If we save one life, the work will have been worth it,” Lieutenant Philip Ashby, Commander of the CPD Traffic Unit said.
The THP will also be out in force during the holiday season to ensure travelers reach their destinations safely. State Troopers will focus their attention on impaired driving and seat belt usage during the holiday, beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, December 23, and ending at midnight on Sunday, December 25.
Increased state and local messaging about the dangers of drunk driving, coupled with sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, aim to drastically reduce alcohol-impaired driving.
“This time last year, there were 223 lives lost to impaired-driving crashes across Tennessee,” said THSO Director Vic Donoho. “Our partnership with local law enforcement is vital to combat drunk driving this holiday season.”
A single DUI conviction can cost an individual $5,000 or more, in addition to jail time. An offender could also be required to attend drug and alcohol treatment or to install an ignition interlock device inside his/her vehicle. Any penalty imposed by law pales in comparison to the injury or death of a loved one.
The THSO provides grant funding to support The Clarksville Police Department’s efforts during the Booze It and Lose It holiday enforcement campaign.