CLEARFIELD – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the Pennsylvania DUI Association, the Clearfield County DUI Task Force and the Clearfield Borough Police Department held a media event during an impaired driver training.
State and local police gathered at Lawrence Township Fire Station for a three-day course in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing.
This course is designed to provide instructional and practical experience by demonstrating techniques that can be used to detect a person who is under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
Volunteer drinkers were used so that the officers learn new skills on techniques such as, personal contact with a potential DUI operator, horizontal gaze nystagmus test, vertical gaze nystagmus test, walk and turn test and one leg stand test.
State and local police will conduct DUI roving patrols through March 18, in an effort to keep impaired drivers off the roadways. With St. Patrick’s Day falling on a weekend, the likelihood of impaired drivers getting behind the wheel rises.
According to PennDOT data, there were 182 crashes on St. Patrick’s Day that resulted in six fatalities during the 2012-2016 period. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) data shows that 252 people lost their lives in drunk-driving-related crashes during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday period from 2011-2015.
More than a fourth of them were killed in drunk-driving crashes that occurred in the early morning, post-party hours (midnight to 5:59 a.m.).
“These needless deaths could have been prevented,” said Karen Michael, District Executive for PennDOT District 2-0. PennDOT reminds motorists that they are considered alcohol-impaired with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, and even a small amount of alcohol can impair judgment and reaction times.
For more information on PennDOT traffic safety, visit www.Penndot.gov/safety.
Additional NHTSA St. Patrick’s Day safety information can be found at https://www.nhtsa.gov/
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