The following article was posted on www.cbs58.com
Drunk driving crackdown
Posted: Apr. 24, 2009
MILWAUKEE -- Sheriff's deputies say drunk drivers have become aware of increased enforcement on interstates, so they take side streets to avoid arrest.
But deputies say this spring and summer those drunk drivers are in for a surprise -- a new tactic expanding enforcement to suburban streets.
Milwaukee County Sheriff's Sgt. William Brown announced the crackdown on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the crash that killed Jennifer Bukosky, a school administrator in Oconomowoc.
Her parents came out to support the new crackdown in the hopes other families don't have to endure the tragedy they have, since Mark Benson was allegedly so impaired by drugs that he slammed into the vice principal's car, killing her and her daughters and leaving her son without a mother.
"It's senseless. Her death was totally preventable," said Bukosky's mother, Judy Jenkins.
Sheriff's deputies say they can prevent such tragedies with the new drunk driving task force that focuses on key days and times when DWIs go up, like Summerfest concerts, happy hour, and the program's kick-off on April 10 -- when the Brewers played the Cubs in the home opener and officers say they pulled over 218 cars and made a total of 26 OWI arrests.
Officers from 13 different agencies will saturate southeast Wisconsin roads at the same time, so drunk drivers can't slip past by choosing a different route.
Deputies say the multi-jurisdictional task force is unprecedented in the state. A federal grant is paying for the police overtime during the special enforcement days from April to September.
Deputies expects drivers will become aware of the motto of "stop, test and arrest" and will see the special signs and vests announcing the enforcement effort, in hopes they'll decide to designate a driver or leave the car parked when they drink.
"We hope to see a decrease in the number of arrests, not because we're not going to be working tiwce as hard, but hopefully the message will be out there," said Sgt. Nate Clarke of the Wisconsin State Patrol.
The message will even be displayed on billboards, thanks to a donation from Lamar Advertising.
Sgt. Clarke said a crackdown on St. Patrick's day showed that someone is listening.
"It was amazing to see we had a lot more designated drivers than usual," he noted. "So as the generations start changing here, I think people are starting to get that message."
Deputies say they removed 42,000 drunks from Wisconsin roads last year, but drunk driving fatalities still increased.
"We're not giving up the fight. We're gonna fight this every year," said Sgt. Brown.
CBS 58's Diane Moca has the story.
