Tie one on for safety

The goal of Tie One On For Safety is to remind people that drinking and driving deaths can be prevented.

"This holiday season we need everyone to support law enforcement's efforts to crackdown on drunk driving by tying a red ribbon to their vehicles," said MADD National President Laura Dean-Mooney. "MADD applauds the work of Governor Christine Gregoire for her support of Washington State's strong alcohol ignition law and commends the Washington State Patrol for its leadership goal of zero traffic fatalities by the year 2030."

Alcohol related deaths can be prevented by making a simple choice. If you are going to drink alcohol, choose not to drive. If you are the designated driver, that means you choose not to drink any alcohol at all. If you can't find a designated driver, choose to call a taxi.

"Impaired driving continues to be the leading cause of death in motor vehicle crashes throughout Washington, and therefore remains our number one traffic safety priority," said Lowell Porter, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. "Research continues to show that a well coordinated public education and awareness campaign implemented at the local level which is backed up with strict enforcement is one of the best combinations for reducing impaired driving deaths and serious injuries. And that is why we are here today," said Porter.

This holiday season, WSP has a new way to save lives. Troopers in fixed-wing aircraft will be using Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) cameras to help locate impaired drivers and direct ground troopers to them.

This new tool in DUI apprehension is called the DUI Aerial Response Team (DART.) Troopers depend on citizens who call 9-1-1 to report possible impaired drivers. WSP data shows that citizens who report suspected impaired drivers are right about half the time. However, all too often the reporting driver can't follow a suspected drunk long enough for a ground trooper to catch up. The DART aircraft will be able to locate and track the possible DUI until ground troopers are able to arrive.

"We see an opportunity for us to improve our response to these very credible reports from sober drivers," said WSP Chief John R. Batiste. "By quickly putting an aircraft over the suspected DUI, we can buy the time we need to get a ground trooper behind the person and make the stop."

DART crews will also try to spot impaired drivers themselves, by looking for speeding, weaving or other known indicators. They will fly during the hours that DUIs are most likely to be on the road.

So far, as can be determined, WSP is the first police agency to use FLIR technology in this way.