The holidays are a time of many celebrations and parties. Oftentimes alcohol is featured at the festivities. Because of this, the holidays also feature an increase of people who are under the influence on the roadways. To combat drunk drivers the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office, along with law enforcement agencies across the country, initiated Operation Drive Sober to help catch people driving while under the influence and keep the roadways safer for everyone.

Operation Drive Sober was held from Friday, December 28th through Tuesday, January 2nd. During the initiative, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department increased the amount of patrols on the roadways to help catch those who were driving under the influence. The patrols resulted in the arrests of more than 20 drivers for operating while under the influence. 14 of the arrests were for those who were first time offenders. The initiative also caught multiple repeat offenders including one with their 5th OWI arrest and another with their 4th OWI arrest. The average blood alcohol content of those arrested was .16, which is twice the legal limit.

Drinking while driving is never safe. If you plan on drinking while at an event, you should also be planning an alternate transportation to get home other than driving. By making the choice to never drink while driving, you help to keep the roadways safe not only for yourself, but for others as well.