Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre announced plans for the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign which runs from June 29 through July 5, 2018, centered around the Independence Day holiday. The campaign is coordinated and funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission.

As part of the campaign efforts, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will assign additional deputies to saturated patrol efforts to target impaired drivers and help keep motorists safe. LPSO deputies will also assist Louisiana State Police with a DWI checkpoint scheduled during the campaign period in Lafourche Parish. In a new twist on DWI enforcement, deputies will also partner with other agencies, including Thibodaux Police Department and Louisiana State Police wherein officers from two agencies will ride in a single unit in an effort to better spot impaired drivers and remove them from the roadways.

Also during the campaign, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office will also conduct its weekly seat belt checkpoint on Thursday, July 5. During this checkpoint, deputies will be checking motorists for seat belt and safety seat violations, as well as for proper inspection tags and other potential violations. These weekly checkpoints are designed to help raise awareness for these types of violations and make the highways of the parish safer for all motorists.

Sheriff Webre reminds citizens to designate a driver if you are going to drink. Motorists suspected of DWI who refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test will lose their driver’s license for one year (first offense). For a second offense, the penalty increases to two years. Anyone convicted of a DWI offense while their driver’s license is suspended because of another DWI offense will face automatic prison time. Lafourche Parish is also a “No Refusal” parish, meaning if a suspected drunk driver refuses a breathalyzer test, deputies will seek a search warrant to have that person’s blood tested.