Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

The ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign reminded impaired motorists not to get behind the wheel this past holiday weekend.

The 4th of July is a time to celebrate with family and friends, but the festivities can turn tragic due to drunk-driving. State troopers were out in full-force over the weekend in an effort to keep roads safer, and crack-down on impaired drivers.

“It was pretty effective over the weekend, we arrested five people for OVI in the Zanesville area, fortunately we had no crashes with impaired drivers behind the wheel so that was a positive,” said Sgt. Chris Chesar of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “The educational aspect I think is really playing is a big part in letting people know that we are out there looking for the impaired driver and we don’t want them out on the roadway.”

Digital message boards were also visible on the state’s highways, displaying the number of traffic deaths this year-to-date. Chesar said they were put in place to educate the public and keep them aware of their speed and surroundings.

“Hopefully we got the message across, people paid attention to their speed, weren’t following to close, were wearing their seat belts, and a lot of signs said make sure you’re driving sober and that educational aspect on educating the public I think helped do the job over the weekend,” he said.

The boards will be on display throughout the state for a trial period. As of June, there have been 487 traffic deaths in Ohio.