Staff report

GALLIPOLIS — Gallia County Sheriff’s Department will join with thousands of other law enforcement and highway safety agencies across the nation this Labor Day weekend to launch an aggressive new crackdown on impaired drivers called “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest.”

“Make no mistake,” Sheriff David L. Martin said. “Our message is simple. No matter what you drive — a passenger car, pickup, sport utility vehicle or motorcycle — if we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions, no excuses.”

Martin said deputies will be out in force conducting sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and utilizing undercover officers to get more drunk drivers off the road.

“We want everyone to play it safe and always designate a sober driver or find a different way home if they have been out drinking,” he added.

Driving with a BAC of .08 or higher is illegal in every state.

“Drunk driving is simply not worth the risk,” Martin said. “Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant. Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance costs, attorney fees, time away from work and dozens of other expenses.”

The national “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest” impaired driving crackdown is a comprehensive impaired driving prevention program organized by the U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Safety Administration focusing on combining high visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness through advertising and publicity.