Slow Down, Wear Seatbelts & Drive Sober

AUSTIN, May 22, 2008 - DPS is asking Texans to slow down, wear seatbelts and drive sober during the Memorial Day weekend. All available troopers will be patrolling Texas roadways, looking for drivers who are breaking the law.

Drivers who are not sober should expect that they will be pulled over; and if they fail field sobriety tests, they will be arrested. Drivers who are intoxicated and have children under the age of 15 in the vehicle face state jail felony charges.

“Slow down, buckle up and drive sober, so you can have a more enjoyable weekend,” said Col. Thomas A. Davis Jr., director of the DPS. “Voluntary compliance with the law is a better alternative than receiving a ticket or being arrested.”

DPS troopers and many other Texas law enforcement agencies are participating in Click It or Ticket, a national campaign aimed at increasing the number of people who use their seat belts correctly, every time they get into a vehicle. Drivers pulled over for seat belt violations by DPS will receive tickets, not warnings.

Another nationwide effort designed to reduce fatalities is the C.A.R.E. – Combined Accident Reduction Effort – program. State police officers across the nation participate in C.A.R.E., maximizing enforcement on major interstate highways to reduce fatalities commonly associated with holiday weekends.
Note to the media: The DPS no longer issues fatality estimates, daily fatality updates or final fatality reports during holidays. Statistics for previous Memorial Day weekends are not available through DPS.

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