Local and state law enforcement agencies are increasing traffic enforcement in an effort to crack down on drunken drivers.
The increase is part of the statewide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign spearheaded by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety.
Dec. 12 marked the beginning of the enforcement period, which will continue through Jan. 1, 2014.
McComb Interim Police Chief Scott McKenzie said the holiday season is a particularly deadly time for motorists due to the increased number of intoxicated drivers on the roads.
In 2012, authorities in Mississippi recorded 582 fatal traffic wrecks, of which 179, or 31 percent, involved intoxicated drivers, according to public safety officials.
“We’re not telling you not to celebrate the holidays,” DPS Division Director Twyla Jennings said. “Just be responsible. Get a designated driver.”
Victim’s advocate Prisca Patrick, of Clinton, is traveling around the state with DPS officials to help promote the campaign.
Patrick’s brother, John Michael Patrick Jr., was a 19-year-old honor student at Hinds Community College in 2007 when he died after a drunk driver ran a stop light and struck his vehicle.
Patrick said the drunk driver had a suspended license, no insurance, a blood-alcohol content at three times the legal limit and was already a three-time offender.
“People need to not drink and drive,” she said. “Not just drinking, texting, too. So many people are texting and driving now.”
McKenzie said officers will be making many traffic stops throughout the holiday season and “will show zero tolerance” to anyone suspected of driving while intoxicated.
The department has authorized overtime pay to bring in officers on their regularly scheduled days off.
