The holidays won’t be happy for impaired drivers who get pulled over and arrested during the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, which runs through New Year’s Day.
The special enforcement campaign is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and managed by LHSC. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over helps law enforcement agencies put more officers and deputies on the road, specifically to get drunk and drugged drivers off the road.
“Each time a law enforcement officer arrests an impaired driver, that improves everyone’s chances of safely getting to their destination,” LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said.
Last year, six people were killed in Louisiana in alcohol-related crashes during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holiday period, according to the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU. During that period, another 80 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes.
Drivers who had been drinking were involved in crashes that killed 210 people and injured another 551 people in Louisiana in 2024, the statistics show.
In Louisiana, anyone with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or above is considered legally impaired, but impairment can begin after only one drink, according to NHTSA:
At .02 BAC, a driver experiences a decline in visual functions and the ability to perform two tasks at the same time.
At .05 BAC, a driver has reduced coordination, a reduced ability to track moving objects, difficulty steering, and a reduced response to emergency driving situations.
At .08 BAC –– legal impairment –– a driver has reduced concentration, short-term memory loss, lack of speed control, reduced information processing capability, and impaired perception.
At .15, a driver has substantial impairment in vehicle control, attention to driving task, and in necessary visual and auditory information processing.
“It doesn’t matter if you are tough, strong, jumbo-size, or smart, alcohol is going to impact your ability to drive a car,” Freeman said. “And if you are foolish enough to get behind the wheel after you’ve been drinking, law enforcement officers will arrest you.”
Freeman urged drivers to find a designated driver or a sober ride home if they plan on drinking.
“The key is to plan ahead,” she said. “Don’t count on making a good decision after you’ve been drinking.”
