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 oneself 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.

“We just really want people to be safe. We want people to have designated drivers, not take the chance. Far too often when we pull someone over for an OWI they say they thought they were fine or they thought they could drive. It’s that level where someone still thinks they’re ok and then they get out in the car and realize their alcohol is still climbing.”

Sandholdt also mentioned that OWI’s can cost someone between $8,000 – $10,000 and that driving impaired is not limited to just alcohol use, but other substances as well.