INDIANAPOLIS — Drive sober or get pulled over. A message often shared by law enforcement, especially going into holiday weekends.
This Labor Day, agencies are working together on enforcement.
On Friday, Indiana State Police joined Indianapolis Metro Police Department officers to pull cars into a sobriety check point on Indy’s west side on North High School Road.
Right along with them was Denise Niblick, an advocate and program manager with Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
"I typically hand out a piece of candy, today is smarties to be smart and not drive impaired. I also hand out a card, a remember me is what we call them,” said Niblick.
For Niblick, this effort is personal.
"I lost my 26-year-old sister, Lisa Streuh, to a 19-year-old drunk and drugged driver in Avon, Hendricks County [on] April 6, 2016,” Niblick said.
Her sister was killed just 10 days after she was engaged, now she's made it her mission to share her story.
"It's really something I've devoted my life to, sharing about her in hopes her story will impact others to make a different choice," she said.
Just last year, alcohol was involved in 20% of all traffic deaths in Indiana, and nearly a quarter involved drug impairment.
Police say those kinds of crashes are a lot more common during the holidays with more people on the road.
"It's going to be a record-breaking travel weekend as far as traffic goes across the highways for the holiday weekend. So, State Police are going to be out there in full force,” said Master Trooper Nick Klingkammer with ISP.
Agencies will not only be increasing patrols statewide; they’ll also be at sobriety checkpoints monitoring drivers at random in areas with higher numbers of impairment related crashes.
The end of summer campaign has been in place since August 16 with ISP and local law enforcement agencies.
It’s funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through grants administered by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI).
Master Trooper Klingkammer told WRTV statewide checkpoints will be in place through the weekend and for the next few months as long as staffing allows.
"We do catch those drivers that do come into the checkpoints, either they are intoxicated through alcohol or drugs and arrests are made,” Master Trooper Klingkammer said.
They hope these actions remind drivers to do the right thing.
"With the visibility alone, we see success because it starts getting in their mind, 'Hey I better not drink tonight,'” said Klingkammer. “There’s checkpoints out here, there are extra patrols out here. I don't want to get caught I want to make that smart decision."
"I truly believe anytime there's an officer that has an OWI case, they find someone who was operating intoxicated, they just saved a life,” added Niblick.
The legal limit to drive is with alcohol in your system is .08
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute is also offering $10 off Lyft or Ubers through September 2 for those in Indianapolis or Fort Wayne.
Ride credits are available between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m.
More information on the program can be found here.
