Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 23, 1993 TAG: 9311230234
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The holiday shopping season hits high gear this weekend, but Roanoke-area police have already begun some browsing of their own.
They're looking to pick up drunken drivers.
Armed with a state transportation safety grant, Roanoke police last weekend charged 19 motorists with driving under the influence - about twice the usual number. More officers than usual were on the streets, as part of a special traffic enforcement detail.
Lt. Ramey Bower, who heads the department's traffic division, said he plans to keep the heat on during the holidays.
"We're coming for them," Bower said. "Our intention is to flat get drunk drivers off the road."
Actually, city police were trying to be low-key about their increased efforts until they work out the bugs.
Bower said he has yet to find any glitches.
Over the past two weekends, the special enforcement racked up 34 traffic charges in about 10 hours.
"We're going to be running something every week, if not twice a week," said Bower, who was once injured in an accident with a drunken driver.
City police were awarded a $30,000 Department of Motor Vehicles grant, the largest of its kind for a Roanoke Valley police agency, largely because of two highly publicized fatal accidents this year on the Roy L. Webber Highway. In May, three people were killed in an accident caused by a drunken driver; last month, a woman was killed in a crash in which drunken driving is suspected.
The grant allows city officers to voluntarily work overtime to stop drunken drivers.
"There is no question that drinking and driving increases during the holidays," said Bower, emphasizing that regular patrol officers, as well as specially assigned officers, will be on the lookout.
The Roanoke enforcement program started well before the traditional holiday season, which will begin in earnest Wednesday afternoon when the state's highways will be flooded with holiday travelers.
Historically, some of the heaviest traffic takes place from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day.
Many of those drivers will be traveling to and from parties and family visits where alcohol is served, said Roanoke County Police Lt. Steve Turner.
That's the reason the county is planning to put more officers on the road as early as this weekend.
"Our idea is not to see how many drunk drivers we can get," Turner said. "We want to make the roads safer.
"People are put in situations where they have a greater opportunity to have contact with a drunk driver," he said.
Turner said the use of sober designated drivers could help keep the roads safer and spare holiday revelers the grief of being charged with DUI. "I've seen a lot of holidays ruined for people arrested on Christmas Day or Christmas Eve," Turner said.
On Saturday night, police will set up checkpoints in the southwest part of the county to monitor the roads for drunken drivers. Over the holiday season, both Roanoke and Roanoke County police will check all major highways and their tributaries for drunken drivers.
The county's efforts will be bolstered by state police, who will double the number of patrol officers over the Thanksgiving weekend.
First Sgt. F.W. Duffy said special emphasis will be placed on controlling speed and making sure motorists are wearing seat belts.
Closer to Christmas, the state police will emphasize apprehending drunken drivers, Duffy said.
by CNB