Law Enforcement agencies have already begun extra patrols in anticipation of the Labor Day weekend.

Sergeant Greg Amundsen with the Missoula Police Department said the effort is part of the national ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign.

“We’re putting out extra patrols for impaired driving, so it’ll be the police department, the sheriff’s office and the Highway Patrol,” Amundsen said. “The national campaign actually started on the 16th, so the MDT (Montana Department of Transportation) likes us to team up and run our programs through the same time frame. You’’ see extra police and sheriff’s patrols here in town, and you’ll see a lot of extra Highway Patrol cars. They’ve brought their SETT (Safety Enforcement Traffic Team) to the Missoula area.”

Amundsen said the days of letting impaired drivers off with a warning are long passed.

“If you’re pulled over, the officer will run you through a battery of tests, you’ll get to go through the enjoyment of going to the jail to be processed, and then booked for DUI,” he said. “It’s going to be expensive, cost you a lot of money, and maybe if the safety part doesn’t really grab you, maybe the sheer expense of a DUI might get you to let someone else drive.”

This and other enforcement and educational campaigns are strategies to reach Vision Zero — zero deaths and zero serious injuries on Montana roadways.

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