‘Drink and Drive, You Lose’ campaign
By Brian Neben
August 14, 2018
LEXINGTON —The Lexington Police Department, along with other state and local agencies, will participate in the 2018 You Drink and Drive, You Lose campaign which starts Friday and runs through Sept. 3.
Local agencies participate in High Visibility Enforcement during the campaign — a universal traffic safety approach designed to create deterrence and change unlawful traffic behaviors.
Drivers may be arrested and convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) if they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or higher, 0.04 percent if operating a commercial vehicle, or 0.02 percent if they are younger than 21. Depending on circumstances of a DUI, the arresting officer or judge may issue a DUI even if one’s BAC was within legal limits, according to the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles website.
A first offense for DUI carries the penalties of 10 days in jail, a $500 fine and drivers licenses revocation for six months. A driver may have their licenses revoked for one year if they refuse to take a breathalyzer test. If a driver takes a breath test and fails then the license may be suspended or revoked for 180 days, according to the DMV website.
During last year’s Drink Drive campaign, the LPD arrested three drivers who were under the influence of alcohol and issued 14 citations for no operator’s license, 32 speeding warnings and 83 other traffic offense warnings.
According to the Nebraska Department of Transportation report, the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office issued 10 citations for speeding, three citations for driving under suspension, two citations for minor in possession, two citations for open container and one safety belt citation. The DCSO also issued five citations for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.