Jefferson City Special DWI enforcement begins

Jefferson City police are holding a special enforcement looking for drunk drivers starting Friday.

The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” enforcement campaign runs through Labor Day.

Jefferson City police gave out more than 620 tickets during the same time period last year.

But officers are not only looking for drivers who are drinking and getting behind the wheel. They are also looking for speeding, seat belt violations and other dangerous behaviors.

JCPD expects a lot of traffic this weekend, and even more next weekend with many heading to and from the lake for Labor Day.

The holiday weekend is one of the busiest travel times of the year in Missouri, Capt. Doug Shoemaker said.

Extra officers will be closely watching the extra traffic, including traffic on the Missouri River Bridge.

The bridge is a concern for JCPD this year since the work was originally supposed to be finished before Labor Day, but the work is still ongoing.

During this period last year, Jefferson City police ticketed more than 120 people for speeding, nearly 70 for seat belt violations and arrested eight people for drinking and driving.

“We lost almost 200 people last year to fatality accidents in 2015 in Missouri based upon some level of intoxication, so we don’t want that at all,” Shoemaker said.

Five of the 200 deaths happened on Labor Day Weekend last year.

More than 50 others were hurt that weekend in crashes involving drunk drivers.