DUI enforcement set in Adams, Grant and Lincoln Counties

Twelve people died in Adams, Grant and Lincoln Counties in Driving Under the Influence (DUI) crashes last year, according to preliminary data on July 18, 2011, from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

In an effort to save lives, extra officers will be looking for DUI drivers between Aug. 19 and Sept. 5 during the annual Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign.

Last year in Adams, Grant and Lincoln Counties, during the same time period, officers on routine and extra patrols arrested 44 people for DUI. For all of 2010, in Adams, Grant and Lincoln Counties, 891 people were charged with DUI.

A new law called “Hailey’s Law” went into effect on July 22, 2011. Now all DUI arrestees’ cars will be towed and impounded for at least 12 hours.

Only a registered or legal owner who was not in the car at the time of arrest is allowed to get the car out of impound before the mandatory 12 hours.

“This new law helps eliminate the danger of drunk drivers getting back into their cars and putting everyone at risk,” said Lowell Porter, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. “Now all drunk drivers face the costs of towing and impound in addition to jail time, losing their driver’s license, and the high cost of a DUI.”

The Ephrata, Moses Lake, Othello, Quincy and Warden Police Departments, the Adams, Grant and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Offices and the Washington State Patrol will join nearly 10,000 other agencies nationwide in this Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign.

The Central Basin Traffic Safety Task Force organizes and supports this enforcement effort.

For additional information about the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, visit http://www.wtsc.wa.gov.