COLUMBUS – Over the upcoming Labor Day weekend, the Ohio State Highway Patrol is continuing their commitment to the “You Drink & Drive. You Lose.” campaign by strictly enforcing impaired driving, crash-causing, and aggressive driving violations on this high-volume traffic weekend.

Troopers will also be concentrating their efforts in five of Ohio’s major metropolitan communities by cracking down on Extreme Driving, including excessive speed, unsafe lane changes, and other types of reckless and dangerous driving.

“Troopers are committed to making our roadways safe over the Labor Day holiday weekend by removing aggressive and impaired drivers from Ohio’s roadways,” Colonel Paul D. McClellan, Patrol superintendent said. “We urge the public to be committed to traffic safety by insisting that drivers and passengers buckle their safety belts, that drivers obey traffic laws and don’t drink and drive.”

Increased and specialized enforcement is made possible through federal overtime funding and worked in conjunction with Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort), which was formed as a multi-jurisdictional national program of patrol, enforcement, and planning activities committed to crash reduction.

Last year was one of the deadliest Labor Day weekends in recent years on the state’s roadways, with 21 fatalities, which 11 were alcohol-related fatalities. By comparison, 12 people were killed on Ohio roads during the 2003 Labor Day weekend.

Motorists can help troopers keep roadways safe by obeying all traffic laws, buckling up, and not drinking and driving. The public should continue to use 1-877-7-PATROL to report dangerous drivers or stranded motorists, or 1-800-GRAB-DUI to report impaired drivers.

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