With the holiday season approaching and a flurry of drinking parties and year-end events approaching, crackdowns on drunk driving, drug-impaired driving, and reckless driving are underway in Fairfax County, Northern Virginia, and throughout the Washington area.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Department announced earlier this month that it would “significantly strengthen enforcement of traffic violations such as drunk driving, drug-impaired driving, speeding, and reckless driving on major roads through the end of December to prevent year-end traffic accidents.”
The department plans to focus on accident prevention efforts by deploying additional officers on weekends and at night, particularly in areas where many drunk drivers are caught. In addition to Fairfax, police in Prince William, Arlington, and Loudoun counties in Northern Virginia, as well as Montgomery County in Maryland, have also reportedly launched or are planning to launch special year-end crackdowns.
To prevent drunk driving, police advise residents to:
▲never drive after drinking.
▲use designated drivers or public transportation like Uber or taxis; and
▲immediately report any suspected drunk driving to 911 or local police.
Areas with high drunk driving rates in Fairfax County include Beauregard Street on the Little River Turnpike, Carlin Springs Road in Leesburg, and the intersection of Patrick Henry Drive and Arlington Boulevard.