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.

Click it or Ticket Campaigns in Full Swing

Posted on May 25, 2018
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI

Local police agencies around the state are participating in the Click it or Ticket campaign designed to increase enforcement of seat-belt laws. Officers will be watching for unrestrained adults and children in cars and trucks both day and night.

Last year, more than 240 law enforcement agencies performed 8,728 hours of traffic patrols and issued more than 30,000 citations or warnings. Seat belt and child restraint citations totaled around 13,700.

In a study conducted by the Purdue University Center for Road Safety, seat belt usage between the years 2000 and 2017 increased from 62 to 93 percent.

Overtime police patrols are paid with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration funds administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

Indiana State Police Troopers Urge Drivers to Buckle up

Posted on April 22, 2017
Author Anita Goodan, WKVI

With the investigation of two separate vehicle accidents that ejected multiple people out of vehicles, Indiana State Police troopers urge drivers and passengers to use seat belts.

Indiana law requires all passengers to be restrained while in a moving vehicle. Children and adults need to be properly restrained while the vehicle is in operation. If anyone is observed not wearing a seat belt, law enforcement can write a ticket for the law violation.

A total of 21,022 drivers and passengers died in 2014 as the result of motor vehicle crashes and more than 2.3 million people were injured and treated in emergency departments, as detailed by America’s Health Rankings United Health Foundation. In addition to those statistics, over half of teens and adults who died in those crashes were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.

Information compiled by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute revealed that there were 250 unrestrained passenger vehicle fatalities in Indiana. That is a 31.6 percent decrease from the previous year.

In June 2015, the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute Law Enforcement Liaison conducted an observation seat belt study to determine usage rates for drivers and passengers of all vehicles. That study found that pickup truck occupant usage rates for 2015 was at 83.1 percent and the car rate was at 94.8 percent.

Troopers ask that everyone buckles up every time for every trip, long or short.

Indiana State Police Announce March Enforcement Blitz

Posted on March 2, 2017
Author Mary Perren, WKVI

The Indiana State Police and local law enforcement agencies are teaming up to crack down on aggressive and impaired drivers during the month of March.

ISP Superintendent Doug Carter says March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day are festive occasions, and the law enforcement community wants to ensure they are celebrated safely.

The increased patrols are supported by federal funding allocated to the state police from the Traffic Safety Division of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI). Troopers will work overtime to conduct observational patrols and sobriety checkpoints around the clock.

Last March in Indiana there were 495 alcohol-related crashes, resulting in 231 injuries and 11 fatalities. Additionally, during the same period, crash reports indicate 1,128 collisions occurred due to dangerous driving, resulting in 260 injuries and two fatalities. Dangerous driving includes factors such as speed too fast for weather conditions, distracted and fatigued driving.

Crashes resulting from dangerous and impaired driving are preventable. The Indiana State Police and ICJI encourage revelers to plan a safe way home before the celebration begins. Do not drive impaired, and call 911 if you see a drunk driver on the road. Also, if you know someone is about to drive or ride under the influence, take their keys and help make arrangements to get them home safely.