Sheriff leads DUI crackdown

The Sarasota Sheriff’s Office will step up efforts to keep impaired drivers off area roads in advance of one of the most statistically dangerous times of the year for motorists.

Sheriff’s deputies will participate in “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” a national campaign to crack down on drunk drivers leading up to Labor Day weekend.

Sarasota County saw a 25% decrease in DUIs this year compared with 2012. The Sheriff’s Office reports 608 DUI arrests among all law-enforcement agencies in Sarasota County through July, compared with 817 by July 2012.

DUI-related deaths are also down, with 12 reported in Sarasota County through July, a 61% decrease from the 31 deaths reported through July 2012.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 10,000 people die each year due to drunk driving. In an effort to combat impaired driving, law enforcement agencies across the country will be cracking down on DUIs from Aug. 16 through Sept. 2.

The enhanced enforcement will supplement regularly scheduled monthly saturation patrols in Sarasota County.

Saturation patrols, which are an alternative to DUI checkpoints, involve focused patrols of area roads by patrol and traffic deputies to identify impaired drivers. Deputies will conduct saturation patrols on Sept. 6, Sept. 7, Sept. 13, Sept. 14, Sept. 21, Sept. 27 and Sept. 28.

Contact Nolan Peterson at [email protected].