Chief Mark Segalla reports that the Reading Police Department will be increasing its number of patrols on local roads as part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” summer campaign.
The Reading Police Department is joining local law enforcement agencies across the Commonwealth, as well as the Massachusetts State Police, by enhancing its efforts to keep impaired drivers off the road.
If you are charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you will lose your license and could face jail time and incur the cost of significant fines and expenses.
The Reading Police urge motorists who have been drinking or using marijuana to plan ahead and designate a driver, use a ride-sharing service or take public transportation. Getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol, using marijuana or both is one of the most dangerous things drivers can do.
“With all of the alternative means of transportation available, there’s no reason to get behind the wheel when you’re impaired,” Chief Segalla said.
The Reading Police will be on the lookout for impaired and reckless drivers over the next coming weeks. Everyone is reminded to never get behind the wheel if they have been drinking and to never get into a vehicle if the driver is impaired.
According to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, marijuana or marijuana-type drugs were the most prevalent types of drugs found in people killed in crashes from 2011 to 2016.
From 2015 to 2016, alcohol impaired driving fatalities increased 9 percent (109 to 119) in the state.
The initiative is funded through a grant from the state Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division and will continue through the remainder of the summer
