Published: May 22, 2008 10:57 pm         

Area police to conduct DUI saturation sting

Memorial Day weekend one of the deadliest holidays for travelers

As travelers take to the roads and local residents gear up for the Memorial Day weekend, local police will hit the roads in an effort to keep the highways safe and free of drunk drivers.

The increased enforcement begins at 9 p.m. today as the Southern Regional Highway Safety Program sponsors a multi-agency DUI saturation sting.

Beckley Police Sgt. Paul Blume, director of the program, says extra officers from the Beckley, Mabscott and Sophia police departments, as well as from the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department and State Police, will be out in full force until 4 a.m. Saturday, concentrating on drunk driving patrols.

Blume says Memorial Day is one of the deadliest holidays for travelers and the purpose of tonight’s saturation sting is to get a safe start to the weekend.

“A lot of people will be traveling today, and in preparation for (other) people traveling, we want to get the message out quickly,” he said. “We want to let people know we’re going to be very aggressive with drunk driving.”

Blume said although the heaviest DUI concentration will be tonight there will be extra patrols throughout the holiday weekend.

In addition to the DUI patrols, extra officers enforcing the annual Click it or Ticket campaign will be on the roads looking for seatbelt violations.

Although Blume says Memorial Day ranks at or near the top of the deadliest holidays of the year, there are things travelers can do to help keep themselves and others safe.

“If you’re going to drink, designate a driver,” he said. “Most people know in advance if they’re going to be consuming alcohol. Be smart enough to designate a driver and have someone else drive you.

“With so many more people out on the roadways, it’s not only you you have to look out for, it’s everybody else.”

— E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com