| id | cleanReleaseDate | troopName | title |
| 767 | 2010-07-01 | Troop A | Troop A Strongly Urges Safety and Sobriety for Drivers |
| LOUISIANA STATE POLICE COURTESY LOYALTY SERVICE Colonel Michael D. Edmonson, Superintendent TROOP A - NEWS RELEASE
Troop A Strongly Urges Safety and Sobriety for Drivers Baton Rouge – As people prepare for the upcoming July 4th holiday weekend, Louisiana State Police Troop A would like to remind motorists to keep safety as a top priority. Holiday weekends traditionally bring an increase of traffic on the highways and an increase of impaired drivers on our roadways throughout the state. With the help of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, Troop A Commander Captain Frank Ducote is able to utilize federal grant money to assign additional Troopers to patrol through the weekend. Troopers will also be participating with local law enforcement agencies and District Attorney’s Offices in implementing a “No Refusal Weekend”. “While impaired and aggressive drivers always pose a threat to public safety, we tend to see more of them on our roadways during holiday weekends,” said Captain Ducote. He added, “We will continue to do everything we can to ensure that we get these drivers off our roadways before they have the opportunity to kill or injure anyone with their vehicles, and this initiative is just one more tool we can use to achieve that goal.” Troopers will be out in force throughout the weekend, day and night, aggressively patrolling the entire Troop area. As is always the case with DWI enforcement, there will be no second chances and there will be no “breaks”. Impaired drivers will be arrested and booked into the parish jail. According to the “No Refusal” initiative, for those individuals who are suspected of impaired driving and refuse to submit to a chemical test, a search warrant for a blood and/or urine sample will be obtained. The reason for implementing the “No Refusal Weekend” is based on the nationwide trend during certain holiday periods when alcohol consumption increases, such as Memorial Day, Independence Day, Mardi Gras, Labor Day, etc. This has been addressed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and others in advertising, public information campaigns, saturation patrols, and checkpoint programs. The loss of life associated with impaired drivers causes a tremendous amount of grief to survivors for the remainder of their lives. To combat this trend and reduce the number of injuries and fatalities caused by impaired drivers, Troop A and other law enforcement agencies will implement the “No Refusal Weekend” initiative to ensure that every person arrested for DWI submit to a chemical test for intoxication. Contact Information: TFC Russell G. Graham II Public Affairs Unit Louisiana State Police – Troop A Office: (225) 754-8524 russell.graham@dps.la.gov www.LSP.org | |||
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