SWAMPSCOTT — The Swampscott Police Department was awarded a special grant from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security to increase the number of impaired driving patrols during the holiday season.
“Drivers impaired by any drug, including marijuana or alcohol, are a major threat to the safety of our roads,” Swampscott Police Chief Ronald Madigan said in a statement. “Our officers will be stopping any motorist who is exhibiting signs of impairment or driving in a dangerous manner.”
Swampscott Police will join local police departments across the state and the State Police in the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” and enforcement mobilization and public information campaign, police said.
The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over educational component of the campaign will stress the responsibility drivers have to other motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians to stay off the road if impaired by any substance, police said.
According to statistics provided by Swampscott Police, the number of alcohol impaired driving fatalities in the state increased nine percent — 109 to 119 — from 2015 to 2016. Since 2012, on average, 800 people have been killed nationally in December crashes involving drivers with a blood alcohol content over the legal limit.
From 2011 to 2015, marijuana or marijuana-type drugs were the most prevalent types of drugs found in drivers killed in crashes in the state. Drivers using marijuana demonstrated decreased car handling performance, decreased reaction times, impaired time and distance estimation, sleepiness and decreased motor skill coordination. Mixing alcohol and marijuana may dramatically produce effects greater than either drug on its own, police said.
“We needlessly lost 119 people to impaired driving last year in Massachusetts,” said Jeff Larason, director of the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security Highway Safety Division, in a statement. “As part of this year’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, we are asking drivers to acknowledge the responsibility they have to their passengers, other motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists on the road with them, to drive without impairment of any kind.
“Plan ahead before you celebrate this holiday season and designate a sober driver, use a ride-sharing service or stay where you are, whatever it takes to avoid getting behind the wheel.”