BVPD reminds you: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
Summer is not over yet, and especially through the upcoming Labor Day holiday weekend, BVPD officers remind you that buzzed driving is still drunk driving, and to think twice before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle while impaired.
The Bella Vista Police Department wants to help ensure our residents and visitors arrive home safely and are participating in a DWI mobilization through September 4. You can expect to see increased enforcement on the lookout for drunk drivers, including DWI and safety checkpoints.
During the 2021 Labor Day weekend, 41 percent of fatal crashes involved a drunk driver. Among drivers aged 18 to 34 who were killed in Labor Day crashes that year, 46 percent were intoxicated – a two percent increase over the year before. In 2021, one person was killed every 39 minutes in a drunk driving crash on roads in the U.S., resulting in the death of more than 13,000 people that year.
Nationally, it is illegal for adults to drive with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher, except in Utah where the limit is .05.
Think twice before getting into a vehicle and driving, to ensure you and those on the road with you make it safely home. Call for a sober ride, designate a sober driver in advance, or just stay where you are until you are no longer impaired. The risk is not worth it.
If you have any questions about this enforcement, call the Police Department at 479-855-3771.