Shorewood Police Buckling Down on Drunken Driving

To prevent traffic accidents and keep the upcoming holiday season from becoming a time of tragedy, the are mobilizing for the statewide "Booze and Belts" campaign from Dec. 9 through 17.

"Our officers will be out in force during the Booze and Belts mobilization to prevent needless traffic deaths and injuries by arresting drunken drivers and enforcing the mandatory safety belt law," Shorewood Lt. Paul Sullivan said.

Law enforcement agencies are cracking down on impaired and unbuckled motorists.

Last year in Wisconsin, there were more than 40,000 convictions for drunken driving.

"If you drive drunk, you are risking humiliation, huge fines, possible jail time, and having to install an ignition interlock device on every vehicle you own, have registered in your name, or drive," Sullivan said. "You are also risking your life and the lives of others on the road."

Furthermore, there were nearly 120,000 convictions for failure to fasten safety belts, which was the second most frequent traffic conviction in 2010.

"Our goal is to not make more drunken driving arrests or write more safety belt tickets," he said. "We are striving to save lives and prevent injuries so we hope that people will voluntarily decide to buckle up and drive sober. But if they don't, our intensified enforcement will increase the risks of getting caught. We will pursue our enforcement and education efforts until we attain our ultimate goal of zero preventable traffic deaths in Wisconsin."