Sheriff urges drivers to stay sober

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office will have additional deputies on patrol during the coming Labor Day holiday weekend.

Sheriff Roby Bowe issued a statement Thursday explaining his department’s commitment to keeping drunk and impaired drivers off Lincoln County roadways.

“Some people think their actions don’t affect anybody else,” Bowe said. “They know it’s illegal. They know it’s wrong. But they do it anyway – they make decisions as if statistics and the lives of others around them don’t matter.”

Statistics released by the Sheriff’s Office indicated 10,076 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in 2013, almost one third of all traffic fatalities for the year. Bowe said 38 percent of 2013 crash fatalities that occurred during Labor Day weekend that year, 161 deaths in all, were the result of intoxicated driving.

Montana’s penalties for driving under the influence increased during the 2015 legislative session. A first offense penalty can run between $600 and $1,000, with third offenses ranging up to $5,000. Those fines can double if there is a passenger in the car under the age of 16. Convictions also result in the automatic suspension of the driver’s license for at least six months.

Bowe encouraged people to plan ahead and make sure both they – and everyone else on the road – is safe.

“All it takes is a little planning ahead,” he said. “Designate a sober driver or call a sober friend or family member to get picked up. But whatever you do, don’t drink and drive.”