Oklahoma Highway Patrol
The goal is simple this weekend; zero traffic-related fatalities in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and the ENDUI program are partnering with law enforcement and the media across the state to make sure that happens.
This Memorial Day, the ENDUI program is asking for your help. People need to know about the following activities and the potential risks of driving impaired. We’re counting on local media outlets to help us get the word out about these activities.
TULSA– A checkpoint is planned with several agencies in Tulsa County on Saturday, May 25 starting at 11 p.m. and ending early Sunday morning.
ROGERS/CREEK COUNTIES– Multiple agencies in these counties will be conducting high-visibility patrols to look for impaired drivers and seat belt violations.
PRYOR– A high-visibility patrol with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and other local agencies is planned in the area around the ‘Rocklahoma’ concert event. These activities will take place on Friday and Saturday.
BRYAN COUNTY– A sobriety checkpoint is scheduled with the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office, Calera Police Department, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol on the evening of Friday, May 24.
ENID– A high-visibility patrol is planned with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the Enid Police Department. This patrol will take place from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting on Friday, May 24.
NORMAN– The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, Norman Police Department, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol will conduct a checkpoint in Norman on the evening of Saturday, May 25.
During the 2017 Memorial Day holiday, there were a total of 666 crashes in the state of Oklahoma. Six of those crashes were fatal, killing six people.
The media is invited to attend these checkpoints to help raise awareness about the impaired driving problem in Oklahoma. Interviews with members of the Oklahoma Highway Patrol will be available across the state. To coordinate times, locations, and interviews, please email Cody.McDonell@dps.ok.gov.
There is absolutely no reason for impaired driving collisions to happen. If you are drinking, have a plan to get home safe.
Services like Uber, Lyft, taxi companies, and others are available to get people to and from their destinations safely. Headed to the lake? Make sure when you’re planning for your activities that you include a plan for how you’ll get home safe. Have a designated driver, call friends or family for a ride, or call a professional service for a safe ride home. However you need to do it, just make sure you don’t drive after you’ve been drinking.
The nationwide “Click It or Ticket” campaign is also underway in Oklahoma. Additional law enforcement will be out in every corner of the state looking for seat belt violations.
It’s also important to remember to properly secure all children who are riding in a vehicle. Not sure if your car seat is installed properly? Contact SafeKids to find a check station near you before you hit the road.
The ENDUI enforcement team coordinates multi-jurisdictional events on a regular basis, including sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. These efforts are needed to impact Oklahoma’s impaired driving problem across the state. The locations of these activities are driven by data from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and by local request.
For an interactive look at all injury crashes in Oklahoma during 2017, visit, http://bit.ly/2017KAB.