MADD New Mexico News:
ALBUQUERQUE — In a powerful initiative to fight impaired driving ahead of Labor Day weekend, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) staff and volunteers are partnering with law enforcement in New Mexico for “Saturation Saturday” today, Aug. 24, 2024.
This coordinated effort aims to save lives by intensifying impaired driving enforcement during one of the year’s busiest travel periods.
Labor Day weekend celebrations often lead to a dramatic rise in fatal impaired driving crashes. In 2022, there were 490 crash fatalities nationwide over the Labor Day holiday period – 39% of which involved a drunk driver, according to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).
In an effort to prevent these devastating tragedies, MADD New Mexico volunteers and staff are teaming up with Bosque Farms Police Department, New Mexico State Police, Albuquerque Police Department DWI Unit, Taos County Sheriffs Department, Rio Ranch Police Department, Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, Isleta Pueblo Police Department, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, Farmington Police Department, Clayton Police Department, Torrance County Police Department and Curry County Police Department to host Saturation Saturday events, including sobriety checkpoints and increased DWI patrols (knowns as saturation patrols).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sobriety checkpoints reduce drunk driving deaths by up to 20%. Saturation Saturday also aligns with the annual National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, which mobilizes its Labor Day high-visibility enforcement efforts in August and September.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck effort to save lives by ramping up prevention and enforcement efforts ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend,” MADD CEO Stacey D. Stewart said. “Police officers are often our first line of defense against impaired driving. On Saturation Saturday and every day, MADD is committed to supporting equitable and just enforcement efforts to stop this 100% preventable crime.”
“Saturation Saturday is an opportunity to team up with law enforcement and amplify the message that if you choose to drive impaired, you will get caught,” said Katrina Latka, executive director of MADD New Mexico. “MADD NM urges the public to plan ahead for a safe ride home over Labor Day weekend by choosing a rideshare service, designating a non-drinking sober driver, or using public transportation.”
Every year, more than 13,000 people are killed and almost 400,000 injured by impaired drivers. Drunk driving fatalities have increased by 33% since 2019. Every 79 seconds, someone in the U.S. is killed or injured by a drunk driver — and that number does not include the deaths and injuries caused by drivers who were impaired by cannabis or other controlled substances. According to NHTSA, in 2022, 152 people in New Mexico were senselessly killed by drunk drivers – or 33% of all crash fatalities.
“We know that at the end of summertime, people go to parties and celebrate with their loved ones. Therefore, it is critical for them to have a plan, and that plan should be to designate a non-drinking driver to get them home safely,” said Bert Parnall, MADD New Mexico advisory board member. “The message of high visibility law enforcement traffic initiatives like Saturation Saturday is to not only stop drunk drivers, but also to publicize to would-be drunk drivers that if they choose to drive, they will be caught.” MADD New Mexico is partnering with Parnall Law statewide for the Saturation Saturday initiative.
Including passive impaired driving prevention technology in all new vehicles as mandated in the lifesaving HALT Act will eventually end this deadly public health crisis. Equipping cars with this passive technology is expected to save more than 10,000 lives a year and prevent hundreds of thousands of injuries from ever occurring. But until then, law enforcement officers must continue their dedicated efforts to keep impaired drivers off the roads.
