Arkansas authorities will be working overtime on the lookout for drunk drivers in streets and highways during the holidays. People like the Periscope drunk driver can’t be too happy about it.
Arkansas Will Have Increased Security From December 18 to January 3
In 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 9,967 deaths in car crashes. All drivers or bikers in this figure had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.8 or higher. In the same span of time, Arkansas reported 135 alcohol-related deaths. As such, law enforcement will be particularly present during the Christmas and New Years holiday period.
Drunk Driving is A Choice, So They Brought In a Drive Sober Campaign
According to Colonel Bill Bryant, Director of the Arkansas State Police, the police force is making every effort to spread a single message: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. This message is part of the state’s Drive Sober Campaign, meant to encourage people who even consider driving under the influence.
What’s more, the Arkansas police department is encouraging anyone who spots a drunk driver to immediately dial 911 and alert the authorities. This is the same for anyone who knows anyone about to get behind the wheel under the influence. People are encouraged to take away the keys from potentially irresponsible drivers and take a cab. Arkansas is joining hands with other police officers from around the United States to encourage sober driving and responsible decision making.
Drive Sober Campaign: How to Stay Safe this Holiday Season
The Arkansas Highway Safety Office has released these helpful tips to stay safe during the holidays:
If people plan on drinking, they should not drive. The police department encourages people to find and assign designated drivers to ensure safety. If this isn’t feasible, people are encouraged to take cabs home or to call a sober family member or friend. People are also advised to contact the police if they see a drunk driver. Obviously, people are encouraged to wear their seat belts at all times when in a car and to use protective gear if on a motorcycle. If drunk driving is inevitable, protecting yourself is the number one priority.
Periscope Drunk Driver Will Hopefully Not Set A Trend
Social media is bursting with the video of Whitney Beall, a young Florida resident who set off to drive home drunk. She challenges herself to see if she’ll get a DUI and chronicled her entire journey through Periscope. Periscope is a live-video feed app that connects users in real time, and even allows for live commenting. The girl’s feed got up to 57 viewers at one point, and she expressed her gratitude and disbelief in slurs. Finally, the girl was arrested by local police and issued a DUI. Be careful what you wish for, Whitney.
Things Obviously Didn’t End Well for the Periscope Drunk Driver
Local police said that she’s lucky to be alive, and will hopefully have some time to reflect on her actions. With the kinds of measures the Arkansas police department is taking, it’s likely that there won’t be a lot of people like Whitney allowed on the streets during the holidays.
On the other hand, this could also kickstart a trend. Much like Josh Peck was known to make vines while driving, people could also take up using Periscope from behind the wheel. This is not only extremely dangerous, but it puts the life of anyone else in the car at risk.
In Other Words, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
Many cities around the world implement security checkpoints on roads to check for blood alcohol concentration. Most often these checks are put up during holidays or on active nightlife days, like a Saturday. Hopefully, more and more major cities will implement this method to prevent any more deaths caused by drunk driving from happening.
