Holiday weekend, game day increase number of drunk drivers

Millions of people hit the roads for Labor Day weekend. Tack on opening day for Mizzou football, and law enforcement officials say the potential for problems worsens.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, one in nine people drive drunk on a normal weekend, and they expect it to be more this weekend because of the holiday.

Last year during Labor Day weekend, six people died, 200 crashes occured, and 150 people were arrested because of alcohol-related incidents, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol website.

Local bartender Kenny Townsend says more patrons leave his bar and drive drunk than people would believe. And he says he has to cut people off frequently, and also does his best to make sure those too intoxicated to drive have rides.

He says, “Drunk driving is similar to wearing tinted sunglasses at night. You can’t see, you can’t react.”

Sgt. Paul Reinsch with the Missouri State Highway Patrol says that drunk driving does not just occur on holidays weekends — it occurs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.