WSP partners with local cops to boost patrols for holiday safety

It’s the time of year when company dinners, Christmas parties and friends gathering for reunions provide the fuel for good times that sometimes lead to bad decisions, which, in turn, can transform into instant tragedies.

As a result, the Washington State Patrol has begun its annual effort to educate the public and put extra troopers in the Spokane area for drivers who haven’t gotten the message.

“We can certainly go out and have a good time and enjoy the holiday season,” Trooper Jeff Sevigney said. “But it takes a little pre-planning. Just like you do for thousands of other things in your life, take a little bit of extra planning to make sure you have your travel home squared away.”

In conjunction with added patrols from both the Spokane Police Department and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, troopers will have extra shifts monitoring heavy traffic times from Wednesday through Saturday, Sevigney said.

In addition to the added eyes on the road, the WSP will pay overtime to make sure even more troopers are available in an effort to target impaired drivers, he said. The effort, as part of the Target Zero Task Force, will remain in force until Dec. 31.

“The ultimate goal of this is to prevent serious injuries and fatal collisions,” he said.

Statewide, some 100 drivers per day get charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, according to a WSP news release. Sevigney said he could not immediately say how many of those arrests occur in the Spokane area, but any DUI charge comes with a cost.

“Obviously, the costs associated with a DUI arrest are high. It’s in the thousands of dollars, not only for the criminal record but the cost you will have to process the DUI charges and arrest,” he said.

Impaired driving most often comes from the use of alcohol or marijuana, but it can also be caused by prescription drugs, cold medications and other medications for sleep, allergies or pain. In 2016, impaired drivers killed 278 people and seriously injured 371 more on Washington roadways.

“The unfortunate truth is that there will be empty seats at family tables this holiday season due to loved ones killed by impaired drivers,” said Darrin Grondel, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. “We call upon all residents to plan ahead to prevent these tragedies by avoiding driving after drinking, or using marijuana and other drugs.”

While Sevigney did not have the numbers in front of him, he said fellow troopers have written more DUI tickets for drivers who have used marijuana since its recreational use became legal.

Some of that increase could come from drivers who think that driving high is not the same as driving drunk.

A statewide roadside survey in 2015 found that 72 percent of Washington drivers did not think marijuana made any difference in their driving ability. And 14 percent of those who admitted to driving after marijuana use felt that driving while high actually made them a better driver, according to the WSP news release.

“We’ve been arresting people impaired on marijuana for a long time,” Sevigney said. “The processes are still the same. Instead of getting a breath sample, we will take your blood. That is how we test for any kind of drug impairment.

“But our message is universal: If we stop you and through investigative work find out that you are impaired, you will be arrested,” he said.

In addition to Spokane-area law enforcement, WSP will partner with officers from Liberty Lake, Pullman and Colfax, in addition to deputies from Pend Oreille and Whitman counties, to deploy extra DUI patrols during the holiday season.

Sevigney also called for other drivers to be on the lookout for impaired drivers.

“Law enforcement can’t be everywhere all the time,” he said. Most drivers “don’t have the training to see the little things we look for that impaired drivers don’t do well. When an average citizen can tell they are impaired, we know from experience that, typically, those people are really impaired.

“If you see an impaired driver, dial 911, get the license plate if you can and a good description and we’ll do what we can to get those people off the road,” he said.

Again, Sevigney and Grondel both said their message isn’t an effort to keep anyone from enjoying the holidays. They just want to limit exposure to impaired drivers who could ruin the season.

“Driving drunk or driving high is never acceptable. We want to ensure everyone makes it home safely from their holiday gatherings,” Grondel said in the release. “There are so many options for planning to arrive home safely, from taxis, ride-sharing apps and public transportation to arranging to stay overnight. Just a few minutes of advance planning can prevent a terrible tragedy and a costly arrest.”

Sevigney said the annual goal is to have no fatal crashes in the Spokane area caused by impaired drivers. “We haven’t see it yet, but we hope this is the year.”