Extra Lawrence police officers will be patrolling for impaired drivers this Friday, July 22, according to a news release from the department.
Since the beginning of this year, there have been four fatal crashes in Lawrence and Douglas County in which alcohol or drugs were a factor, according to the release.
The saturation patrol will take place throughout Lawrence city limits, according to the release. This effort is in hopes of encouraging community members to designate a sober driver and buckle up for every trip.
Officers will perform sobriety field testing for drivers who are stopped for traffic violations and show signs of drug or alcohol consumption.
The patrol detail is funded through a grant with the Kansas Department of Transportation. It will “place extra officers in the field specifically looking for motorists who exhibit signs of impaired driving and other traffic violations,” according to the release.
The release states that there have been 183 fatality crashes and 3,043 injury crashes that involved alcohol in Kansas in the past 10 years.
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