Highway deaths in Virginia during the Labor Day holiday have spiked for the last three years, and Virginia state police are planning to do something about it this year.
Virginia motorists can expect to see nearly 200 local law enforcement agencies as well as the Virginia State Police participate in Checkpoint Strikeforce during this year’s Labor Day holiday.
They will do at least 140 sobriety checkpoints and 530 saturation patrols through Sept. 5. Also local and statewide law enforcement efforts will continue through the end of 2016 to fight drunk driving.
Virginia’s Checkpoint Strikeforce effort started in 2002 and is designed to get drunk drivers off the roads by using checkpoints and patrols.
It aims to stop all drunk drivers, but it targets men between 21-35, which is the demographic that represents almost 1/3 of all people killed in alcohol-related crashes in Virginia each year.
The state police reminded the public this week that first time DUI punishments in Virginia are tough and include fines as high as $2500, installation of an ignition interlock system in your car, license suspensions of a year as well as jail sentences of up to a year.
Our View
As drunk driving attorneys in Virginia, we know well the terrible accidents that drunk drivers cause. We approve of any effort by law enforcement to crack down on drunk drivers.
Drunk drivers should know this: Not only do you risk severe criminal penalties for drunk driving. If you get in an accident and hurt someone, you can have your financial life destroyed as well when you are sued in civil court for damages. Your car insurance may cover part of the lawsuit, but the drunk driver can be left with the rest of the bill, which can add up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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