Local police departments cracking down on drugged driving during 4/20
Local police departments are cracking down on drugged driving on this 4/20. According to the Pennsylvania DUI Association, drugged driving now accounts for about 40 percent of all DUI cases.
“4/20,” said South Hills DUI Task Force Coordinator Louis Parrotta. “It’s known somewhat as a national holiday so we’re out there looking for people who are going to partake in the events today.”
It’s no secret that police departments across the country are on high alert today including 18 departments in the South Hills area. Whitehall is one of the departments in this South Hills DUI Task Force. The task force will be out all day doing roving patrols looking for drugged drivers.
“Hopefully our enforcement efforts will reduce the number of crashes and maybe people will decide to maybe not go out and drive today if they partake in it because they know the enforcement efforts are out there looking for it,” said Parrotta.
“High is high,” said PA DUI Association Executive Director Leo Hegarty. “Impaired is impaired. It’s that simple of a concept.”
Leo Hegarty is with the Pennsylvania DUI Association. He says impaired driving because of drugs, not alcohol, now accounts for 35-40 percent of the total number of DUI arrests in the state.
“However, you use the drug,” said Hegarty. “Whatever the status of the drug is, if it causes impairment, you run the risk of being arrested for DUI.”
“I think it’s a very cheap way to extract money from tax-paying citizens for trying to find relief like myself,” said Benjamin Warner.
Ben Warner, who has a medical marijuana card, admitted to us that he drives after using marijuana. He says it doesn’t impair him as much as everyone thinks.
“As long as I’m focused, I can concentrate on the road just fine,” said Warner. “No one would know I smoked at all.”
“I would love to have that zero/zero equation,” said Hegarty. “Where there are zero arrests with zero fatalities and zero injured. I haven’t seen it yet, and I think it’s going to be a while before we get to see it.”
“The PA DUI Association is doing what they can to combat it too because we are seeing an uptick in crashes involving marijuana users,” said Parrotta.
Officers admit drug-related DUIs are more difficult to prosecute. The PA DUI Association says they’re trying law enforcement right now on the extra steps they need to take in order for drug-impaired driving cases to be successfully prosecuted.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
TRENDING NOW:
Allegheny County police investigate death of male found in drainage tunnel ‘Rapid unscheduled disassembly’: SpaceX Starship explodes after test flight launch Woman charged after Waste Management driver hit by car in Mount Lebanon VIDEO: Elizabeth Forward High School teachers say students, staff getting sick after return to building DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts
