Dedham Police Crackdown on Impaired Driving

The Dedham Police Department announced today that they will join 128 other law enforcement agencies statewide to crackdown on impaired driving.

The initiative will start on August 15 to September 3 as part of the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.  The program is being funded by a federal grant administered through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security's Highway safety Division (EOPSS-HSD).

According to police officials, 115 people died due to impaired driving in 2010.  There were also an additional 2,750 impaired driving related injuries, property damage crashes, and close to 14,635 impaired driving arrests.

On average, there is one alcohol impaired driving-related fatality every 51 minutes across America, according to officials.  And "the number of drivers operating under the influence increases during holiday weekends, especially during summer holidays". 

The Dedham Police Department said its "officers will be aggressively looking for all impaired drivers during the crackdown and will arrest anyone they find driving while impaired — regardless of age, vehicle type or time of day".

According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, violators can face jail time, loss of their driver licenses, or even be sentenced to use ignition interlocks. Their insurance rates will also go up.

Other financial hits include attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of job or job prospects. For that reason a first offense can easily cost well over $5000, according to officials.