TULSA, Okla. — Ahead of ringing in the new year, authorities in Oklahoma and across the country are cracking down on drunk driving.
One national program is called ENDUI. In Oklahoma, Highway Patrol teams up with police departments to keep drunk drivers off the roads.
There were about 1,000 DUI deaths nationwide in December 2021 alone, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Related story >>> Tulsa Health Dept. honoring drunk driving victims
That's a lot — even across 50 states, but 100% of those deaths were preventable.
One OHP lieutenant told 2 News they see this with holidays, no matter the time of year.
- Related story >>> Stop DUI Taskforce reminds Oklahomans to stay safe
"People like to drink during the holidays, whether it's Christmas time, New Year's time," Lt. Chris Arnall pointed out.
"You also have an influx of your college playoff games, a lot of college bowl games going on, people going to parties and watching these bowl games," he continued. "But then they gotta get back home to their house to get ready for work the next day."
Arnall is the statewide impaired driving coordinator for ENDUI. He manages a number of OHP troopers spread across the state, acting as "impaired driving liaisons." They work with local police departments to set up DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols, even instructing these agencies on identifying impaired drivers.
Throughout the weekend, they will focus on areas where they have historically encountered more of these drivers.
Arnall told us New Year's Eve isn't actually "that big of a problem" for them. He said a big issue is that the holiday falls at the end of a weekend this year.
"I'm afraid Friday and Saturday are gonna be the nights," he admitted. "We're gonna have issues because they [drivers] always know we're out on New Year's Eve."
When we hear the term "DUI," we often think of driving after drinking alcohol. However, Arnall noted they've seen a growing issue of driving while on other drugs.
"I think people think that just because it's a prescription medication from a doctor, or you have a medical marijuana card and you can legally get marijuana now... For some reason, they think that it's okay to still drive on it," he observed. "It ain't any different than alcohol."
As for what to do, Arnall cannot emphasize enough the need to prepare for an outing. That could mean having a designated driver or calling an Uber or Lyft.
Plain and simple: driving impaired just isn't worth it.
- Related story >>> Man walked from DUI crash to gas station, says Jenks police
"The most minimum thing that can happen to you is to be arrested, go to jail that night, and now you're out some money for fines and court costs and have to go to court," he said.
"But the worst thing," Arnall said, "is you kill somebody, and now you're facing negligent homicide, manslaughter charges — whatever. And then, you go back and think, 'Yep, I knew I shouldn't have done that.'"
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- SUBSCRIBE on YouTube
