EVERETT — Some time after kickoff, the ranks of officers on the road looking for impaired drivers will swell in Snohomish County.
The Snohomish County DUI and Target Zero Task Force will be out in full force from 4 p.m. to midnight Sunday.
Deputies and officers from the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Everett, Bothell and Lake Stevens police departments will be doing high-visibility patrols on Super Bowl Sunday.
“Our people will be out all over the county, not just those cities,” said Stacey McShane, whose title is Target Zero manager for the sheriff’s office. “Even if the Seahawks aren’t playing, it’s a pretty active day.”
Target Zero is the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission’s plan for zero traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
Ideally, the forewarning will make people think twice about drinking alcohol or using drugs during the big game and get impaired drivers off the road, she said. It’s also a good time to think about finding a designated driver or making alternate plans for viewing the big game without taking risks afterward.
With that in mind, “the less we arrest, the better,” she said.
On average, three people will lose their lives to drunken driving just in the time it takes to watch the football game, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Drunken driving accounts for almost one of every three deaths on U.S. roads every year. In 2015 alone, 10,265 people were killed in drunken driving crashes.
On Sunday, updates on the emphasis patrol will be provided via the Snohomish County DUI &Target Zero Task Force Twitter account at @SnoCoTargetZero.
Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.
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