The month of December is National Impaired Driving Awareness Month and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office wants to highlight the importance of driving sober.

According to the National Safety Council, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve are two of the most celebrated days every year but also two of the deadliest due to fatalities stemming from impaired driving. The National Safety Council also reports that nearly one third of all traffic fatalities that occur in the US are from an individual driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit of .08. Along with putting yourself and others in harm’s way, many legal consequences also occur from an OWI charge. Marion County Sheriff Jason Sandholdt says that ultimately the main priority of his department is safety.

“It is not fair for the family of five out there enjoying a good time and having someone who is selfish and had too much to drink, go into them head on and cause a casualty. That is why we’re out on the road to focus on that and keep people safe, and granted people get arrested for OWI’s. That’s part of it but the number one reason is that we want people to be safe this holiday season.” 

Driving impaired is not limited to just alcohol use.