The Oregon Department of Transportation, Oregon Impact and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are partnering with law enforcement agencies throughout Oregon to increase impaired driving awareness and enforcement. As part of the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Campaign, the Rockaway Beach Police Department will be adding extra patrols between August 17th and September 3rd to focus on impaired driving enforcement. Information provided by NHTSA shows that August 2015 had the highest number of fatalities from motor vehicle crashes that year. During the 2015 Labor Day holiday, 63 percent of fatal traffic crashes involved a drunk driver.
During this same time, we will also be participating in the Oregon Safety Belt enforcement blitz from August 20th to September 2nd. Federally funded overtime will allow us to concentrate on proper seat belt and child safety restraint use. Oregon Department of Transportation crash data shows the lack of safety belt or child restraint use was a factor in 26% of motor vehicle occupant fatalities in 2016. A new Oregon law for children under age two requires use of a child seat with harness in a rear-facing position, unless the child turned one year of age prior to May 26, 2017.
As the end of summer draws near, let’s work together to keep our roads and the people travelling on them as safe as possible. By wearing proper safety restraints in conjunction with using a designated driver, we can all make a difference! Don’t forget to download the free Rockaway Beach PD app, scan this code to go directly to it.
If you have questions about this project, please feel free to contact Sergeant Sean Ahlers at the Rockaway Beach Police Department or by phone at (503