DUI Patrols, Checkpoint Planned In Oklahoma County

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol ENDUI team will be partnering with the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office and Oklahoma City Police Department in extra patrols on Friday, Jan. 11.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office will be conducting a checkpoint and will have high-visibility patrols out before, during, and after the checkpoint. The checkpoint will run from 11 p.m. until about 1 a.m. Saturday morning.

The Oklahoma City Police Department will be adding extra patrols throughout their city limits searching for impaired drivers. The goal is to make the roads as safe as possible by getting impaired drivers off the roads, police said

"There is absolutely no reason for impaired driving collisions to happen. If you are drinking, have a plan to get home safe," officers said in a news release. 

In 2017, 656 people were killed in crashes in Oklahoma. Almost half of those, 324, were killed in drug or alcohol-related crashes, authorities said. This is up from 43 percent in 2016 in Oklahoma, according to officials.

"Think about those numbers for a minute. That's more than 300 families who had a knock on their door one day telling them their loved one will never come home again. All because of the actions of an impaired driver," officers said in a news release.

In December 2018, the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office launched a new PSA campaign titled "Stop the Knock - The Other Side of the Door". The video chronicles the day of a typical Oklahoma family, ending with a knock at the door that no parent or spouse ever wants to receive, police said. 

"Everyone is highly encouraged to find a safe ride by calling a sober driver, using a cab, Uber, Lyft or any other ride-share service. Better yet, have a designated driver. Have fun and enjoy life, but do not, under any circumstances, drive while impaired by alcohol or any other substance. The cost is too high. Let’s ENDUI," authorities said in a news release. 

The ENDUI enforcement team coordinates multi-jurisdictional events on a regular basis, including sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols. The locations of these activities are driven by data from the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office and by local request.