On Friday, March 5, from 12 to 4:30 p.m., the Ashland Police Department will host a Safe and Sober Driving Event at Randolph-Macon College.

Officers with the Ashland Police Department is inviting all drivers—young and old—to join them as they kick off “Checkpoint Strikeforce” and “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving: St Patrick’s Day impaired driving awareness campaign”.

The event also is being held in conjunction with Randolph Macon College’s “Spring into Safety Campaign” and is sponsored by its Residence Life, Office of Alcohol and Drug Prevention and Campus Safety Office.

Officers and representative from Mother Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) organization will be on hand to educate drivers as to the dangers and consequences of driving impaired.

Volunteers will wear “fatal vision goggles” while maneuvering a golf cart through traffic cones to simulate the effects that alcohol has on a person who operates a motor vehicle under the influence.

Officers also will offer field sobriety tests to the volunteers after they complete the driving course.

Also during this month, the Ashland Police Department will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint in an effort to remove impaired drivers from our roadways.

In National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that in 2008, there were 134 crash fatalities on St. Patrick’s Day. Out of that number, 50 people were killed in traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcyclist with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. 

Please remember that “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.” Designate your sober driver before the St. Patrick’s Day parties begin.