Keeping Sunday Super: Designate a Sober Driver

While Super Bowl XLV is good reason for many (click here to find some ), there is never a good reason to drive while drunk.

It's easy to designate a sober driver in your group of friends or find alternate transportation home after the big game, law enforcement officials say.

Drunk driving patrols will be stepped up this afternoon, as police officers, county sheriffs’ deputies and state troopers go out in force following Super Bowl XLV, according to the Washington State Patrol.

“Fans don’t let fans drive drunk,” said WSP Chief John R. Batiste in a prepared statement. “Baseball has the designated hitter. On Super Bowl Sunday we need designated drivers to make sure their fellow fans get home safely.”

Target Zero Teams are structured with a full-time core of state troopers, joined by deputies and officers from local agencies when staffing and funding permit. .

“It’s great to see our officers working side-by-side with deputies and troopers,” said Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo in a prepared statement. “We all want the same thing-to save lives.”

The Washington State Patrol urges drivers to call 9-1-1 if they see a possible drunk driver. State law allows drivers to use a cell phone to report emergencies.

“An impaired driver is definitely an emergency,” said Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick. “If you see someone you think is DUI, it’s appropriate to call 9-1-1 and report that.”

New technology will allow the Target Zero teams to more efficiently find and arrest impaired drivers. A mapping program shows the locations of previous drunk-driving fatalities, locations where citizens have repeatedly reported impaired drivers, and statistics on prior DUI arrests.

A WSP aircraft will also assist the patrol cars on the ground. 

The Target Zero began last July, so Sunday's effort will be their first Super Bowl blitz. The Washington State Patrol arrested 19 impaired drivers in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties following last year's game.

Participating agencies include:

King County, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Auburn, Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Seattle, Snoqualmie, Washington State Patrol.

Pierce County: Lakewood, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, Puyallup, Tacoma, University Place, Washington State Patrol.

 Snohomish County, Bothell, Edmonds, Everett, Lake Stevens, Lynnwood, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace, Snohomish, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Tulalip Tribal Police, Washington State Patrol.

-- Information from the Washington State Patrol