- Video shows Door County Sheriff's office efforts to increase patrols for the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.
- Field service lieutenant Brad Shortreed says they will increase their patrol numbers throughout the campaign, which runs until January 1st.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
The Door County Sheriff's office is participating in this year’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign. I’m your Door County neighborhood reporter Katlyn Holt with what their officers will be looking for and what you can do as a driver to stay safe.
"They're always out there. You just you got to be vigilant and that's what this whole campaign is," said Deputy Nate Guilette, who has worked for the Door County Sheriff's office for nine years and he says impaired driving is more prevalent during the holiday season.
On December 15th the Door County Sheriff's office joined the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over,” campaign, but Guilette says they are patrolling for intoxicated drivers year round.
"I typically put on 35 to 40,000 miles a year driving. So, when you're driving that much you know when you see something suspicious or unusual," said Guilette.
Guilette says several things stick out as red flags when trying to identify intoxicated drivers and many times drivers are pulled over for a small violation traffic stop.
"When you get to the car, you have that odor of intoxicants, or they're slurring their words, or they dropped their driver's license as they're handed in to because they have poor hand dexterity and things like that, bloodshot eyes," said Guilette.
Door Co. Sheriff's Office Field Service Lieutenant Brad Shortreed says they will increase their patrol numbers throughout the campaign, which runs until January 1st.
"We normally have about four to five deputies that patrol, we're hoping to increase that throughout the times of the night, maybe up to six people," said Shortreed.
I asked Lieutenant Shortreed what the protocol should be for drivers who think they have witnessed a drunk driver.
“Give us a plate information direction of travel local travel and get as much information as we can see, we can try to track down that person," said Shortreed.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Safety provided a list of the 180 Wisconsin law enforcement agencies that informed WisDOT of their participation in the campaign. They note the list may not be comprehensive.
Deputy Guilette says there are more Ubers and Lyfts that have been servicing the area, along with taxi ride or safe ride options you can ask about when you're out.
"The biggest advice that I can give is try to plan somebody that you know or some way ahead of time," said Guilette.
If you suspect a drunk driver is on the roads, you're encouraged to call 911 immediately.
