Sheriff James Lee Berrong said the BCSO is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) for its “Booze It and Lose It” campaign from August 17 to September 5, surrounding the Labor Day holiday. This initiative coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” mobilization to increase impaired-driving enforcement nationwide.
The Blount County Sheriff’s Office will beef up patrols during this period to specifically be on the look-out for intoxicated drivers.
“We are asking our citizens to really think before getting behind the wheel if they have been drinking alcohol,” Sheriff Berrong said. “There are too many options available to those who wish to celebrate an occasion that includes drinking alcohol while away from home, including designating a sober driver or calling a taxi or ride share service to take you home. Drinking alcohol interferes with the brain’s communications pathways, making it harder for you to control your balance, fine motor skills, memory, and your judgment. Please do the right thing and refrain from operating a motor vehicle if you’ve been drinking. It’s not just your life that will change if you make the decision to drive while intoxicated and you crash your vehicle. It could be the lives of innocent people who are injured or killed due to your negligence; it could be your loved ones and your friends. It’s so easy to hand your keys to someone who is sober. Don’t be the person who makes the wrong decision.”
Increased state and national messaging about the dangers of drunk driving, coupled with increased sobriety checkpoints and high visibility enforcement, aim to drastically reduce the number of drunk-driving crashes, injuries, and fatalities this year.
The consequences of a single DUI conviction for a first-time offender in the state of Tennessee may include costly fines, court costs, legal fees, jail time, mandatory drug and alcohol treatment, and/or the installation of an ignition interlock device in his/her vehicle.
The THSO provides grant funding to support to the BCSO for increased enforcement efforts during the Booze It and Lose It campaign. For more information about the THSO, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.
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