Sober or Slammer! begins in South Carolina

If your holiday revelry extends to having a drink at a local bar and then hopping in the driver's seat for "just a quick drive home," troopers and law enforcement will be looking for you.
The South Carolina Department of Public Safety kicked off its annual Sober or Slammer! campaign against drunken driving at the holidays on Wednesday, according to a news release from the department. The heightened enforcement period will end Jan. 1.
S.C. Highway Patrol troopers and local law enforcement agencies will set up safety checkpoints and intensify their efforts to find drunken drivers.
As of Friday, 921 people across the state had died in vehicle wrecks this year in the state, and data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed there were 331 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in the state during 2016, according to the release.
You might see a TV ad during this period with the "Highways or Dieways" slogan, more advertising and social media outreach such as paid Facebook ads showing the consequences for families of drunken driving.
“The South Carolina Highway Patrol is encouraging motorists to realize that the decision to drive after drinking has consequences that could not only affect themselves, but their families and other drivers on the road,” said Col. Chris Williamson in the release.
Public safety Director Leroy Smith urged people to have a designated sober driver if they plan to drink or for motorists to call *HP to report someone they think might be driving drunk.
“We must all work together to lower highway fatalities in our state and reach our goal of Target Zero. Law enforcement is working to end drunk driving fatalities through enforcement and education,” Smith said. “But there is a third component that is critical to ending impaired driving deaths — you. We depend on every driver to make the right decisions."
The campaign runs concurrently with the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign conducted by NHTSA.
To learn more about the campaign, visit www.scsoberorslammer.com.