Governor McDonnell Launches Campaign to Crack Down on Drunk Driving

Drunk drivers now face an increasing chance of getting arrested in Virginia until the end of the year. Under Virginia's 10th annual Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign, state and local police will ramp up the number of sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols.

“Each year we see too many drivers get behind the wheel of a vehicle while they are under the influence of alcohol.  However, because of the efforts of the Checkpoint Strikeforce, every year the number of those putting innocent citizens in danger continues to decrease," Governor Bob McDonnell said in a prepared statement. "It is our goal that through these efforts more Virginia motorists will choose not to drink and drive this holiday weekend and throughout the year.  One drunk driver on our roadways is one drunk driver too many.”

Since Virginia first launched the Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign in 2002, fatalities as a result of drunk driving have decreased by more than 23 percent, and injuries as a result of drunk driving have decreased by more than 32 percent.

In 2010, almost 33,000 people were arrested for drunk driving, and over 29,000 people were convicted, resulting in "an average of one conviction every 18 minutes," according to the prepared statement.

For more information on the campaign, see http://www.checkpointstrikeforce.net.