Washtenaw County police agencies to participate in drunken driving crackdowns
A series of drunken driving crackdowns will begin Thursday in Washtenaw County.
The local enforcement efforts are part of a statewide push called Operation CARE - Combined Accident Reduction Effort - to reduce drunken driving around the Fourth of July weekend. It runs from July 1-11.
Expect to see extra police patrols this weekend.
File photo
Here's a breakdown of the local enforcement efforts, which each begin at 8 p.m.:
- July 1: Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies will be out in force in Scio Township and Dexter.
- July 2: Officers will be patrolling I-94 throughout the county, US-23, the University of Michigan campus, Dexter and Main streets, M-52 and I-94, and areas of Michigan Avenue. Participating agencies include the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, Ann Arbor Police Department, Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety, University of Michigan Department of Public Safety, Milan Police, Chelsea Police, Saline Police and Michigan State Police.
- July 3: Officers will be patrolling I-94, US-23, Superior Township, the Carpenter/Packard road area, U-M campus, Michigan Avenue, Dexter, Old US-12 and Main Street, and Packard and Washtenaw. Participating agencies include the Sheriff's Department, Ann Arbor Police, Pittsfield Township Police, U-M Police, Milan Police, Chelsea Police, Saline Police, and State Police.
- July 4: Michigan State Police troopers will be out on US-23 and I-94.
- July 8: Washtenaw County sheriff's deputies will be patrolling throughout Ypsilanti Township.
- July 10: Police from various agencies will be in the areas of I-94, Michigan and Hewitt, Carpenter and Packard, U-M campus, Michigan Avenue, Dexter, Old US-12 and Main Street and Packard and Washtenaw. Agencies involved are the Sheriff's Department, Ann Arbor Police, Pittsfield Township Police, U-M Police, Milan Police, Chelsea Police, Saline Police and State Police.
According to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, 4,397 alcohol-involved crashes occurred in Southeast Michigan in 2009 - down from 4,538 in 2008. Of the 2009 crashes, 101 were fatal and resulted in a total of 115 fatalities.
Last year, the one fatality that occurred over the July 4th holiday in Michigan was a result of drunken driving, SEMCOG said. The highest numbers of alcohol-related crashes happen on the weekend during the early-morning hours.
Officials urge people to plan a ride home in advance with a designated driver or on public transportation if alcohol will be involved in the festivities.
Comments
Ricebrnr
Sat, Jul 3, 2010 : 9:02 a.m.
@Pergrine Sorry I missed your previous post. Your articles notwithstanding. You can't argue physics. Something smaller hitting something bigger imparts less force. Here is a good article on that. edmunds.com/ownership/safety/articles/106748/article.html I do have an excellent driving record, no moving violations ever. 2 small 1 vehicle accidents on rural snowy roads with no injuries and both in smaller vehicles. As the above article states; "Assuming you're a safe driver, your chances of getting in an accident are really in "the other guy's" hands. You are driving across an intersection and get broadsided by someone running a red light. Your odds of survival, or avoiding injury, are up to the design of the car and the safety equipment you've chosen. At that instant you will hope you have made a good decision and chosen a safe car. Still, you can't protect yourself against every danger. And life is full of trade-offs. You want to save oil and reduce emissions, but you also want to be safe. What do you do? You choose the safest car you can afford that also provides good gas mileage. Here are a few factors to help guide your decision. The keys to a car's ability to keep you alive during a crash involve safety equipment, the vehicle's weight and its resistance to rollover. While small cars don't roll over easily, they lack weight and are less likely to have advanced safety features like stability control or full side curtain airbags."
ShadowManager
Thu, Jul 1, 2010 : 11:11 p.m.
I saw a drunk pitbull driving himself home the other night...now THAT'S DANGEROUS!
Ricebrnr
Thu, Jul 1, 2010 : 9:17 a.m.
@Atticus F. How do you reconcile your rather harsh views on the potential threat of pitbulls with this quite conciliatory one for drunk drivers? How many ptibull maulings/deaths are there in a year? How many by drunk drivers? Wanna bet which is the more dangerous?
Ricebrnr
Thu, Jul 1, 2010 : 9:05 a.m.
Really? How hard is it to choose NOT to DRINK and then Drive? Poor choices lead to bad outcomes.
Atticus F.
Thu, Jul 1, 2010 : 8:19 a.m.
I agree with keepsitreal...The drunk driving laws are way too strict in this country. We have people going to prison now a days, because they had a few beers a few times, got behind the wheel and got caught. They didn't hurt anybody, they didnt cause any accidents, yet they are getting sent to prison.
Peregrine
Thu, Jul 1, 2010 : 1:16 a.m.
@Ricebrnr, If you want to protect your family then maybe you should consider ditching the SUV. They are riskier for the occupants than some other types of vehicles. This is contrary to many people's intuition. Here are some relevant links if you'd like to learn more: Malcolm Gladwell's article Tom Vanderbilt's post on the topic A graph summarizing statistics
burgundy
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 10:15 p.m.
Don't be caught texting while driving drunk...But shouldn't the 'crackdown' be happening at all times anyway?
Ricebrnr
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 9:17 p.m.
I can defend my home against invasion. I can only hope my SUV will protect my family enough against these drunk yahoos and other poor drivers. By all means go get em!
jcj
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 8:36 p.m.
Keepsitreal? Huh Anything but! I don't care if stopping drunk drivers is "their" cash cow!( I doubt they take that money for beer parties. If we can put some monies in the coffer and get the drunks off the road all the better! The best thing for helping out with the home invasions would be for some of the brain dead residents in this town to pay attention to something other than themselves.
jeepinkev
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 7:52 p.m.
Awesome! Now I know which routes/areas to avoid! Thanks!
tdw
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 7:09 p.m.
@keepsitreal You obviously are quite knowledgeable in law inforcement.What should they do about the home invasions and robberies?
Keepsitreal
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 6:47 p.m.
How about focusing on all the robberies and home invasions first.I think the dui crap is mostly their cash cow'
Tom Joad
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 5:18 p.m.
I don't care what anyone says there is NO SAFE level of drinking and driving. Even after two drinks you are border-line DUI and if you're a woman you could easily blow over 0.08 BAC. You don't want to end up like the Lions President--looking like an absolute fool on the police cam.
psaume23
Wed, Jun 30, 2010 : 4 p.m.
Good to hear our officers will be focusing on DUIs, and maybe they can also catch red light runners.