Sober or Slammer 2012

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety troopers and officers are making plans to keep the highways safe as people celebrate the long New Year’s holiday weekend, which runs through midnight January 1. Last year, 7 people died in traffic crashes over the New Year’s holiday period.  The Department of Public safety kicked off its “Sober or Slammer” campaign in mid December.  So far, this year, 30 deaths have resulted from 27 crashes since December 16.  That’s down from 53 death from 48 crashes during last year’s sober or slammer campaign.  And this year’s number are below the 2010 statistics of 41 deaths from 36 crashes. DUI arrests are down this year.  So far during this year’s campaign, more than 500 arrests have been made.  That’s down from over 800 arrests during last year’s sober or slammer campaign.  The state has had some good news recently from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration with regard to alcohol-impaired driving fatalities.South Carolinahas dropped from being tied for number one in the country for the percentage of overall fatalities that involved an alcohol-impaired driver in 2010 to number seven in 2011 – a decrease from 44 percent to 38 percent in 2011.  SCDPS encourages motorists to call *HP or *47 if they see someone they suspect is driving while impaired.