Maryland State Police stepped up their anti-drunk driving and general traffic enforcement efforts over the weekend of August 13-14. However, there were still 15 crashes involving suspected drunk drivers, including one involving the leader for the department’s driving under the influence (DUI) enforcement squad. Over that weekend, troopers made more than 4,700 traffic stops, issued about 3,100 citations and gave out approximately 3,000 warnings. They conducted sobriety checkpoints and special enforcement initiatives across a number of counties, and arrested 71 drivers who were suspected to be intoxicated or otherwise impaired. Even while making all of this progress, however, they responded to 15 car accidents involving impaired drivers. In one case, the State Police Impaired Driving Reduction Effort was conducting special DUI enforcement activities in Prince George’s County, where seven impaired drivers were arrested in two days. The team leader was patrolling at approximately 3:30 a.m. on that Saturday when he was hit on the right front side by a driver attempting to change lanes. The driver was reportedly 19 years old and was operating on a learner’s permit while under the influence of alcohol.

The outlook for preventing drunk driving

While it’s clear that Maryland law enforcement officials are working to curb drunk driving, it has been slow going, as the numbers of DUI arrests are still high across the state. So far this year, state troopers have arrested about 4,400 people for DUI. They continue to work to find new ways to identify and remove all impaired drivers from the state’s roads and highways. To learn more about your legal options if you’ve been involved in a drunk driving auto accident, consult a dedicated personal injury lawyer at Mudd, Mudd & Fitzgerald, P.A. in La Plata, Maryland.