DUI-300x250-st-pat.jpg

Vancouver, Wash. – On March 16 2019, the Vancouver and Battle Ground Police Departments, Clark County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol will have additional officers enforcing the DUI laws in an effort to keep drunk, drugged and high drivers off the road. Officers, who are also drug recognition experts, will be among the officers conducting these increased DUI patrols.

Once again, the Washington State Patrol (WSP) will have their Mobile Impaired Unit (MIDU) in Vancouver for this emphasis. The MIDU is a self-contained 36 foot motorhome that has been retrofitted as a mobile DUI processing center and incident command post. The MIDU is equipped with three breath testing instruments, two temporary holding cells, three computer work stations, an incident command computer terminal, and a dispatcher console with wireless access to WSP dispatch centers. This is a full service police station on wheels!  The MIDU program seeks to partner with all law enforcement agencies to assist in reaching Washington’s Target Zero Goals.

St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally one of the deadliest holidays on our nation’s roads. Alcohol and drug impaired driving is the leading contributing factor in Washington fatal crashes, with alcohol and cannabis being the most common combination of intoxicants. Getting behind the wheel intoxicated can mean a DUI, if you don’t plan ahead for sober transportation. As a reminder, Uber is offering first time users a special coupon code for $25 toward their first trip. Sign up for the Uber coupon code RIDEHOMEVANC at https://get.uber.com/go/ridehomevanc.

Thanks to a grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, law enforcement agencies in SW Washington will have extra officers conducting DUI enforcement on strategic dates, including St. Patrick’s Day, to help keep our roadways safer.

If you are driving and see a suspected impaired driver, call 911.

The Vancouver Police Department wishes everyone a happy and safe St. Patrick’s Day!

###