Kansas law enforcement cracks down on drunken driving

Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Kansas Highway Patrol is joining the Fort Scott Police Department and many other law enforcement agencies across the state to aggressively enforce Kansas' impaired driving and other traffic laws.

The slogan for the Kansas Department of Transportation's Special Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) this year is "Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest." The national crackdown, which began Thursday and continues through Labor Day, is supported by a KDOT grant. The program places extra officers and troopers on both streets and highways.

"In Kansas, too many people are injured and killed every year on our roads as a result of impaired driving collisions," KHP Superintendent Col. Terry Maple said. "The costs and consequences associated with these crashes can be overwhelming. Our agency and other agencies throughout the state have dedicated ourselves to fighting these incidents and we are committed to reducing impaired driving on our roads."

In 2008, 3,366 alcohol-related crashes occurred in Kansas, resulting in 1,999 injuries and 131 deaths. These preventable crashes cost nearly $628 million in medical charges, property damage, lost earnings, lost household production, emergency services, travel delay, vocational rehabilitation, and workplace disruption, among others, a KHP statement said.

This total amount does not include the many millions of tax dollars spent each year on prevention activities, court-ordered education programs, victim impact panels, enforcement, processing, prosecution, incarceration, monitoring, and drivers' license suspension hearings in an effort to make the roadways safer.

According to the Fort Scott Police Department, on any given day in Kansas, six persons are killed or injured in alcohol-related crashes.

More than 100 law enforcement agencies across the state are participating in the STEP campaign. In an effort to drastically reduce the number of preventable deaths and injuries that occur when alcohol is mixed with driving or riding, troopers across the state will be participating in saturation patrols and check lanes. The Patrol's Breath Alcohol Unit will be assisting road troopers and other law enforcement agencies with the check lanes to remove impaired drivers from Kansas roads, the KHP statement said.

It is illegal in Kansas to drive or attempt to operate a motor vehicle with a blood or breath alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. Penalties for impaired driving include loss of driving privileges, fines, court costs, and possible jail time. The more severe consequences of drinking and driving include injury or death of the driver, an occupant of the vehicle, or the occupants of another vehicle, according to KHP.

In 2008, alcohol was a contributing factor in a record 34 percent of all fatal crashes in Kansas, according to KDOT data.

KHP suggests the following precautions:

* Drivers who plan to drive should not drink.

* Drivers who plan to drink should designate a non-drinking driver and give that person the keys to the vehicle.

* Never ride with a driver who has been drinking.

* Take a list of phone numbers for cabs or friends to call for a sober ride home.

* If possible, plan to spend the night at the event.

* People who are throwing a party should provide non-alcoholic beverage alternatives, and never let guests drive drunk.

* Report impaired drivers to the local law enforcement agency.

* Always buckle up and properly secure children in safety seats.

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