Tis' the season for holiday parties and fun - but, Florida Highway Patrol troopers want to make sure you don't wreck the holidays.
FHP is spreading the message of "drive sober or get pulled over," a message not just for drivers but also boaters. With holiday celebrations in full swing, law enforcement will be working overtime to take drunk and impaired drivers off the road and out of the water through January.
‘Let it be known we’ll be out in force heavy to prevent tragedies that we seen over several years,” said Mike Powell from the Broward Sheriff's Office.
FHP, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and both the Broward Sheriff's Office and Palm Beach Sheriff's Office have partnered together to focus holiday enforcement efforts on making sure you stay on the nice list this year - by keeping you off the road if you've had one too many drink.
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“Our officers would rather arrest a person, then tell their family that they’ve been killed in a boating accident,“ said Tyson Matthews from FWC.
325 people lost their lives and more than 1,500 were hurt in nearly 36,000 crashes last year, according to officials. In more than 28 percent of those crashes, at least one of the drivers involved was reported to be operating a motor vehicle in a careless or negligent manner.
In December 2021, nearly 1,000 crashes in Florida were alcohol related, drug related or a combination of both. FHP reminds drivers it is against the law to drive or operate a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level over .08.
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"Nearly all alcohol related crashes result in a fatality," said Indiana Miranda from the FHP.
