Sheriff Advises: Only Cranberries Should Be Sauced - Drive Sober

Eugene, OR – The Lane County Sheriff’s Office and Lane County transportation planners remind everyone to drive sober and slow down this holiday season.

“We typically see an increase in impaired driving during the holidays,” said Lane County Sheriff’s Sergeant Tim Ware. “People are busy celebrating and maybe not tracking their alcohol or cannabis consumption. We also tend to encounter people who are drinking or using other substances more during the holidays to cope with family or seasonal stressors – and if they get behind the wheel it can be deadly.”

Utilizing grant funding provided through Oregon Impact, the Sheriff’s Office will be staffing additional DUII patrols this holiday season.

Stay safe:

• Plan ahead for a sober driver to safely drive you to your destination. As with drunk driving, it is essential that drug-impaired drivers refrain from driving a vehicle.
• Passengers should never ride with an impaired driver. If you think a driver may be impaired, do not get in the car.
• Do you have a friend or family member who is about to drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs? Take the keys away and arrange to get them home safely. Don’t worry about offending someone — they’ll thank you later.
• If you see an impaired driver on the road, call 9-1-1.

“We especially want to remind people who will be driving in rural Lane County this holiday season,” said Becky Taylor. “Our rural county roads are often winding and narrow with little room to recover if you leave your travel lane. Sadly, there are several county roads with high numbers of serious injury or fatal crashes, including London Road south of Cottage Grove which is our first Safety Corridor and the focus of several education and engineering efforts.”

About the London Road Safety Corridor:

To reduce DUII, speeding, and the number of people killed and injured, Lane County has partnered with Oregon Department of Transportation and South Lane County Fire & Rescue to designate London Road as a Safety Corridor, which doubles traffic fines. Learn more at www.lanecountyor.gov/lrsc.

(information directly from L.C.S.O.)