DUI crackdown underway in Sevierville

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Sevierville police officials said if you drink and drive, be ready to pay the cost. They started a holiday enforcement campaign Wednesday.

Sgt. Caleb Brien and his fellow officers will hit the roads looking for impaired drivers over the coming weeks.

“We are mobilizing more officers on the roadways to combat impaired driving. As well as it’s not just an enforcement campaign, but it’s an education campaign is well,” said Brien.

He said the best thing you can do is to plan ahead before you ever take your first drink. He also said if you see someone who has had too much, help them find a safe way home.

“Our goal is to prevent this problem before it even starts to show the public that this is a very unsafe behavior and it is also a very destructive behavior, and we want to keep our roadways the safest we can for our visitors and our citizens here in this community,” said Brien.

From now until the Labor Day holiday there’s even more officers working overtime, which is funded by a grant and coincides with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations “Drive sober or get pulled over” campaign nationwide.

“We are committed to making our roadways safer, and it’s a partnership between us and the public. And the only way that we’re going to reach this goal of having zero alcohol related accidents and fatalities is with the public partnership,” he added. “Our goal is for you to have a sober driver before you even arrive at that event. And that goes for your friends as well. If you see somebody that’s been drinking, help them out to have a sober ride home.”

SPD will be conducting a DUI saturation patrol during this period, and additional officers will be on patrol with the goal of detecting impaired drivers and removing them from our roads.

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