Revere Police badge.
Staff Report
REVERE — The Revere Police Department has received a $3,000 grant to increase impaired driving patrols in an effort to save lives.
The award from the Massachusetts Highway Safety Division of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security is part of the state’s participation in the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign. Funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) through Labor Day, it includes State Police and more than 145 local police departments.
“Keeping impaired drivers off the roads is our priority as we head into the Labor Day weekend,” Police Chief Joseph Cafarelli said in a statement. “If you’re going to celebrate, plan for a sober ride home, and if you see a drunk driver, call us.”
Statewide, 133 people died in crashes that involved a driver over the legal limit of intoxication in 2014, said Jeff Larason, director of the Highway Safety Division.
“With so many safe alternatives to driving impaired…there’s no excuse not to plan ahead how you will get home safely,” Larason said in a statement.
More than 10,000 people annually between 2010 and 2014 are involved in drunk driving crashes nationwide, according to the NHTSA. During the 2014 Labor Day weekend, 40 percent of traffic crash fatalities involved drunk drivers.