Good times and parades aren’t the only things rolling in Louisiana this Carnival season.
The Covington Police Department will be on patrol, looking for impaired drivers through Mardi Gras, March 4, as part of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission’s Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.
Drivers in Louisiana who are arrested and convicted of operating a vehicle while impaired can be sentenced to six months in prison and fined up to $1,000 for a first-offense charge.
“If people drink alcohol, that is their business. If they are drinking and driving, it is the public’s business because they are endangering everyone on the road,” LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said. “Our law enforcement partners around the state will see those impaired drivers, pull them over, and arrest them.”
A drunk driver is 13 times more likely to cause a fatal crash than a sober driver, according to the 2023 Louisiana Traffic Records Summary Report from the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU. From 2019 to 2023, during the Carnival holiday in Louisiana, 23 people were killed, and 356 people were injured in crashes involving drivers who had been drinking, according to CARTS.
All holidays show a spike in alcohol-related crashes, but more people in Louisiana are killed in alcohol-related crashes during Carnival than any other holiday in Louisiana. During Carnival 2023, the latest year for which verified statistics are available, seven of the 11 people killed in crashes were in crashes in which at least one driver had been drinking, according to CARTS.
“The Covington Police Department is committed to ensuring the safety of our community during this Carnival season. We want everyone to enjoy the festivities, but we will not tolerate impaired driving,” said Chief of Police Michael Ferrell. “Our officers will be actively patrolling, and if you choose to drink and drive, you will be arrested. Remember, a night of poor choices can lead to devastating consequences. Make the responsible decision: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”