Missouri Law Enforcement Agencies Announce Enforcement Plans for Impaired Driving Crackdown; Missouri Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities Exceed National Rate

Business Wire, August 15, 2005

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It is sobering news: Missouri has been designated as a Strategic Evaluation State (SES) by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, indicating that alcohol-related traffic fatalities are especially high. In fact, Missouri's alcohol-related traffic fatalities exceed the national rate by .15%.

A news conference will be held to discuss the action plan for Missouri impaired driving issues (as an SES state, Missouri has committed to focus resources to address the problem) and to kick off the nationwide Impaired Driving Crackdown (August 19 - September 5).

WHO:   Law enforcement officers from more than 10 agencies in
        Southwest Missouri
       Don Hillis, Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT)
       Scott Turner - MoDOT
       Major Dale Penn, Missouri State Highway Patrol
       Sheriff Archie Dunn, Jasper County
       Bud Balke, MADD
       Romell Cooks, National Highway Traffic Safety
        Administration (NHTSA)

WHEN:  11:00 a.m.
       Tuesday, August 16, 2005

WHERE: Monett, MO
       Grant's Restaurant
       114 Chapel Drive (off Highway 60)

WHY:   Based on 2003 statistics, Missouri's rate of alcohol-related
       fatalities exceeds the national rate by .15%.

       Number of alcohol-related fatalities in Missouri (2003): 504
       (41% of total fatalities)

       16-20 year olds are the most over-represented age group in
       alcohol-related fatalities. Ninety-eight Missourians under the
       age of 21 (legal drinking age) lost their lives in
       alcohol-related traffic crashes in 2003.

   Source: NHTSA, National Center for Statistics and Analysis (2003)

In addition to announcing the stepped up enforcement of impaired driving during the Impaired Driving Crackdown, officials will introduce the new Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP) on staff at the MoDOT, Highway Safety Division. Prosecutors from several counties in the area will also be present. The new TSRP will describe how they will work with law enforcement to ensure arrested impaired drivers are prosecuted.

"Our message is simple -- You Drink & Drive. You Lose," said Romell Cooks, Regional Administrator, NHTSA, Central Region. "We encourage anyone planning on drinking alcohol to be responsible and designate a sober driver. With checkpoints, roving patrols, undercover officers and concerned citizens, chances are if you drive impaired during this Impaired Driving Crackdown, you will be arrested."

National Statistics

Impaired driving is one of America's most-often-committed and deadliest crimes. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Report, more than 1.4 million people nationwide were arrested in 2003 for driving under the influence. Statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for 2003 show that more than 13,000 people died in highway crashes involving a driver with an illegal blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) level of 0.08 grams per deciliter or higher.

Studies from NHTSA show that Americans support tougher enforcement and consider drunk driving an important social issue, ahead of health care, poverty, the environment and gun control. Nearly 97 percent of Americans view drinking and driving by others as a threat to their families and themselves. The majority of Americans also support increased enforcement efforts like sobriety checkpoints to protect innocent victims from impaired drivers.

Note to Editors:

News Conference Available on Satellite Feed

Please Note: the Satellite Feed Will Be Available from 4:15 P.M. to 4:30 P.M. Central Daylight Time, Tuesday, August 16, 2005

SBS 6, Transponder K05 (downlink frequency 11823 MHz Horizontal)

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