Virginia State Police Ramp Up Safety, DUI Patrols Over 2022 Labor Day Weekend

VIRGINIA — After last year’s Labor Day weekend, when fatal crashes were cut in half from the previous year, the Virginia State Police is challenging residents to make it through the 2022 holiday weekend with no fatal crashes.

The agency is also planning a crackdown on impaired drivers, with more than 30 sobriety checkpoints set up for the holiday weekend.

State police will have all available uniformed personnel on patrol over the 2022 Labor Day weekend conducting traffic safety and enforcement patrols as part of Operation CARE, or the Crash Awareness Reduction Effort.

“Because one traffic fatality is too many, I challenge Virginians to achieve zero fatal traffic crashes this holiday weekend,” Col. Gary Settle, Virginia State Police superintendent, said in a statement. “The recipe is easy: Ditch distractions, drive sober, comply with posted speed limits, wear your seatbelt and be patient.”

Virginia State Police’s participation in the Operation CARE program began Friday at 12:01 a.m. and will continue through midnight on Monday, Sept. 5. Operation CARE is a nationwide and state-sponsored traffic safety program that aims to reduce traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries caused by impaired driving, speeding and failing to use occupant restraints.

The 2021 Labor Day weekend saw a reduction in fatal crashes across the state. Ten people died in traffic crashes in Virginia during the 2021 four‐day holiday, compared to 20 deaths in 2020 and 17 deaths in 2019, according to data from the Virginia Highway Safety Office and the Virginia DMV.

Labor Day DUI Enforcement Campaign

State police are also participating in the annual “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, an anti‐DUI enforcement and education program sponsored by the Washington Regional Alcohol Program. The Virginia State Police is one of nearly 95 law enforcement agencies in the state conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols through the end of the year in an effort to prevent and deter impaired driving and DUI‐related crashes.

“Virginians statewide can expect to see more state and local law enforcement on the Commonwealth’s roadways through the Labor Day holiday as we seek to deter and apprehend impaired drivers through DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols,” Settle said.

Formerly known as Checkpoint Strikeforce, the campaign is in its 21st year of reminding Virginians of the dangers of impaired driving. The enforcement period of Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over will take place through Labor Day and resume throughout the 2022 winter holiday season.

Last year in Virginia, 26 percent of all traffic fatalities involved drunk driving, a 9.2-percent decrease from 2020. However, the number of alcohol-related crashes in Virginia increased by 1.9 percent and the injuries caused by those crashes rose by 6 percent in 2021, according to state data.

Nearly 16,000 people were convicted of a DUI in Virginia in 2021, a 13.4-percent increase from 2020.

"Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over reflects a shared commitment to stop impaired driving at the source," Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Acting Commissioner Linda Ford said in a statement."The message to Virginians is simple: If you’re old enough to drink, act like it. Do your part to save lives."

Law enforcement officers are expected to conduct 383 individual saturation patrols and 31 sobriety checkpoints across the state over the Labor Day weekend, officials said.

RELATED: Virginia Gas Prices: What It Costs For Labor Day Weekend 2022