News Release

Maintain Your Independence This Independence Day: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Enforcement Results in 30 Impaired Driving Arrests

Law enforcement officers gathered at Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Van Buren to kick off the impaired driving campaign on July 2.

NPS Photo

News Release Date: August 12, 2021

Contact: Dena Matteson, 573-323-4814

VAN BUREN, Mo. – This past Fourth of July, the National Park Service (NPS) in Missouri and Arkansas partnered with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 7 (NHTSA) and local law enforcement to emphasize the importance of driving sober and saving lives on America’s roads by participating in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over impaired-driving awareness campaign.

In support of the law enforcement community’s dedication to protecting the lives of residents in their communities, an increased presence of officers worked together in and around Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri and Buffalo National River in Arkansas during the holiday weekend to take impaired drivers off the roads. These expanded efforts were conducted in a fair and equitable way. 

The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign at NPS sites in Arkansas and Missouri resulted in 653 traffic stops with 30 arrests for impaired driving. Of those contacts, 428 traffic stops and 20 arrests for impaired driving were associated with the campaign at Ozark National Scenic Riverways, as park rangers and other local law enforcement officers joined forces to keep the roads safe on a busy holiday weekend. 

With the strong presence of law enforcement, organizers intended to put motorists on notice that impaired driving is illegal and will lead to an arrest for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). “Protecting the community is our goal, and we worked especially hard during the holiday weekend to keep the community safe from impaired drivers during the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign,” said NHTSA Region 7 Administrator Susan DeCourcy. “We cannot stress this enough: If you are impaired by any substance, do not get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Remember: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

It is never safe to drive when impaired. This not only means refraining from drunk driving, but also from drug-impaired driving. Prescription drugs and over-the-counter cold and sleep medications can impact driving ability just as much as illegal drugs and alcohol. This law enforcement mobilization was an effort to draw attention to the dangers of impaired driving to drivers, passengers, and everyone on the roadways.

For more information about impaired driving, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drug-impaired-driving.

www.nps.gov/ozar

Ozark National Scenic Riverways preserves 134 miles of the free-flowing Current and Jacks Fork rivers, the surrounding resources, and the unique cultural heritage of the Ozark people.  

Learn more at www.nps.gov/ozar.  Find us on Facebook @ozarkriverways and on Instagram @ozarkriverwaysnps.