The Woodward News

Local News

August 18, 2010

Law enforcement focusing on drunk driving

Michelle Seeber Woodward News

Woodward, Okla. — If you’re caught driving while drunk, the cost can be prohibitive.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Steve Nightengale estimates fines, court costs and attorney expenses can total from $5,000 upward to $15,000. Drunk driving can also result in loss of a driver’s license and a possible prison sentence.

However, something worse is when a life or lives are lost due to drunk driving, Nightengale said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2008, nearly 12,000 people in the United States died in crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was drunk. Of those crashes, 32 percent occurred on the weekend.

That’s why from Aug. 20 through Sept. 6 as part of a national campaign, law enforcement in Woodward and the surrounding area will be particularly vigilant in watching for drunk drivers, the trooper said.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Woodward Police Department, Woodward County Sheriff’s Office, Mooreland Police Department and Fort Supply Police Department will all be involved, Nightengale said.

“We’ll focus on taking drunk drivers off the road,” he said.

“On an average weekday 1 in 50 drivers are drunk but on a weekend, it jumps to 1 in 10,” Nightengale said. “So that’s quite a big number.”

“On this campaign, you’ll see everything from sobriety check points to troopers who all they’re doing is looking for drunk drivers,” Nightengale said. “You’ll see ads on billboards, radio and other advertisements that we’re out concentrating on looking for drunk drivers.”

He noted Labor Day weekend will be a particularly important focus of law enforcement during this time.

“We have a holiday coming up,” Nightengale said. “If there’s alcohol involved (during an activity), make sure the person drinking has a ride home or gets a designated driver.”

Nightengale also advises people not to get in a car with a person who’s been drinking.

 “I have worked wrecks where people were killed or injured who thought the driver was OK,” he said.

The loss of life also has other ramifications, such as grief felt by relatives.

“In the Highway Safety Office, the hardest thing for law enforcement officers to do is go to someone’s house and tell them a loved one has been killed,” Nightengale said. “As troopers, we’re required to do it in person. We have to look them in the eye and tell them a loved one has died.”

Woodward County Sheriff Gary Stanley  said his deputies will be at the lake looking for people drinking and driving to keep them off the highway.

“We’ll be more alert,” Stanley  said.

Lt. Det. Chuck Wheeler  of the Woodward Police Department also noted police will be more attentive to looking for drunk drivers.

“This is to make our community  safer, and hopefully by putting this out, drivers will be more attentive to not drinking and driving,” Wheeler said.

Nightengale said authorities encourage anybody who suspects a motorist is driving drunk to call 9-1-1 and report it or call the Highway Patrol by dialing *55.

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