As more people are expected to hit the roads to enjoy a long weekend, the Southeast Wisconsin Impaired Driving Task Force deploys to keep the roads safe.
"There are no warnings on this. There are no rides home from us. There are no breaks. This is the warning right here," said Lt. Eric Miller of the Bayside Police Department.
Forty agencies between Milwaukee County and Waukesha County make up the task force. They work together to pull off a cohesive effort combating impaired driving. The task force is the largest of its kind in Wisconsin.
Officers will work under directed patrol assignments aimed at OWI enforcement.
"A lot of people that are impaired can't multi-function. They can't do two things at once, so they are either concentrating on driving straight and driving really fast or really slow," said Miller.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over the 2017 Labor Day holiday, 376 people were killed nationwide. Thirty-six percent of them died in a crash involving a drunk driver.
After nearly 22 years on the job, Miller is seeing more impaired drivers are under the influence of drugs from marijuana to heroin to prescription pills. He also noticed more drivers are repeat OWI offenders.
"There are no warnings on this. There are no rides home from us. There are no breaks. This is the warning right here." — Lt. Eric Miller of the Bayside Police Department
The task force reported over the last 3.5 months it has made 43 arrests for impaired driving. They say the number is still too high.
Police urge people to organize a designated driver, take a cab or use a ridesharing app.
