Starke County Prosecutor Advises Residents to Make Good Decisions this Holiday Weekend

Posted onAugust 30, 2019
AuthorJacque Ryan, WKVI

According to statistics from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, 83 Hoosiers were killed in drunk driving collisions during 2018. Nationwide, a life is lost due to a drunk driving accident every 48 minutes.

Holiday weekends, like Labor Day weekend, see a spike in the number of people getting behind the wheel after drinking.

Starke County Prosecutor Leslie Baker is advising residents of Starke County to be mindful this Labor Day weekend and to avoid drinking and driving.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, in 2017, 256 drivers died over Labor Day weekend and 37 percent of them were drunk at the time of the crash. Studies show these fatalities are much more likely to occur at night and involve people between the ages of 21 and 34.

The choice is clear, if you have an alcoholic drink or use drugs that may impair you, even prescription medication, you should not drive.

There are plenty of steps Hoosiers can take to make sure they have a safe weekend:

1. Make sure you have a safe, sober ride home before drinking alcohol
2. Don’t let someone who has been drinking get behind the wheel
3. If you’re hosting a party, make sure everyone has a sober way to get home
4. Wear your seat belt, it’s the best defense if you’re involved in a collision with a drunk driver
5. If you see a drunk driver, call law enforcement

Saturday will mark the end of National ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ week when law enforcement agencies make a concerted effort to initiate more OWI checkpoints and patrols in order to keep Indiana roads safe and to raise awareness about the dangers of impaired driving.

This emphasis on making smart choices and to avoid driving while intoxicated should continue for Hoosiers into the holiday weekend and beyond.

Remember that even one drink is enough to impair your decision making. The information provided above came from an official press release issued by the Starke County Prosecutor’s Office

Local Agencies to Participate in Nation-Wide ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ Initiative

Posted on August 8, 2019
Author Jacque Ryan, WKVI

About 230 Hoosier law-enforcement agencies and thousands nation-wide will soon join together for the annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” mobilization.

Each year, from mid-August through Labor Day weekend, police officers work overtime in order to crack down on impaired driving. Motorists can expect to see increased roving patrols, sobriety checkpoints, and saturation patrols.

Local agencies involved in the initiative include the Bremen, La Porte and Culver Police Departments as well as the La Porte County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana State Police Lowell and Bremen Posts.

The overtime is supported with National Highway Traffic Administration funds distributed by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Not only can a Driving While Intoxicated arrest result in going to jail and losing your license, but it can also be quite costly.

After adding up expenses for towing and vehicle repairs, attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work and other associated fines, the average DWI can cost around $10,000.

In addition to that risk, driving while intoxicated puts your life and the lives of others in your vehicle or sharing the roadway in danger.

Authorities recommend enlisting the help of a designated driver anytime you ingest a substance that makes you feel different because it will make you drive differently.

Police note that this includes illegal substances as well as legal ones such as alcohol and prescription or over the counter medications.

Warning signs of a potentially impaired driver include weaving, swerving, drifting or straddling the center line, braking erratically, making wide turns, stopping without cause, driving at a very slow speed or responding slowly to traffic signals.

Additionally, seeing somebody driving on the wrong side of the road, turning abruptly or illegally, closely missing a vehicle or object or driving after dark without headlights on could also point to possible impairment.

Drivers are encouraged to get off the roadway and call 911 if they ever spot a driver who appears to be impaired. Do your best to give a detailed vehicle and location description to authorities so they have an easier time locating the hazardous motorist.

Local Police to Take Part in Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign

Posted on August 4, 2018
Author Michael Gallenberger, WKVI

Local law enforcement will be stepping up patrols between now and Labor Day. It’s part of the annual nationwide Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.

The Culver and LaPorte police departments will be among roughly 230 in the state conducting overtime patrols, with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration distributed by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute. During the enforcement effort, drivers can expect to see more sobriety checkpoints, roving patrols, and saturation patrols, according to a press release.

In Indiana, police officers also have some new tools to help them fight impaired driving. More than 2,600 portable breath tests were distributed to 150 law enforcement agencies. While there’s no quick way to test for many other types of drugs, officers trained to recognized drug-impaired driving were given Android tablets to help with the documentation process.

Police urge Hoosiers to avoid drunk driving by designating a sober driver, celebrating at home or someplace you can stay, or taking the keys from friends or family members who are about to drive while impaired. Police say that if you come across an impaired driver, turn off the road and call 911.

This year’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign gets underway in mid-August.

2/28/2014 Operation Pull Over Blitz Begins Today

By: Anita Goodan, WKVI
Published: February 28th, 2014


Today begins a three-week enforcement on impaired and dangerous driving by 250 law enforcement agencies across the state of Indiana.

Officers from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Department and Starke County Sheriff’s Department, as well as all local police departments, will be involved in this “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” blitz through March 23.

March is a time for the rush and excitement of basketball season as well as the highly anticipation of the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. The increased rate of alcohol consumption during these events have found the need to conduct these saturation patrols.

You are urged to have a designated driver if you plan on meeting friends at a bar, attending a sporting event gathering, or a St. Patrick’s Day party.

Operation Pull Over is a federally funded enforcement initiative administered by the Traffic Safety Division of the Criminal Justice Institute.