Drinking and driving causes many fatalities on Utah roads each year, according to local law enforcement agencies.
It also leads to thousands of dollars of tickets and fees, according to one Tooele City police officer.
“Driving under the influence is a very dangerous thing to do,” said Jeremy Hansen, public information officer with the Tooele Police Department. “A lot of people are killed in Utah every year due to impaired driving. Even if the driver isn’t involved in a traffic accident, a DUI charge will cost the driver thousands of dollars by time they pay a fine, attorney fees, vehicle impound fees, etcetera. Taking a chance of driving under the influence just simply isn’t worth it, especially if a life is lost. If you drink, do not drive. Find a designated driver.”
COVID-19 changes format, but 100 children were helped ♦
The annual “Shop with a Cop” event this year was a success, but it was different this year because of the pandemic.
About 50 police officers and civilian staff from Tooele City, the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office, Grantsville, Stockton, Utah Highway Patrol, Bureau of Land Management and Wendover City traveled to Walmart in Tooele on Dec. 19 to buy toys for 100 children from the county in need.
“This year, due to COVID, the parents of the children supplied a list of things that the children needed,” said Jeremy Hansen, public information officer at the Tooele Police Department. “The officers arrived at the Tooele Walmart at 05:30 a.m. and purchased the gifts for the children. The officers then delivered the presents to the children at their homes.”
The Tooele City Police Department is reminding people to pull over for emergency vehicles.
The law requires drivers to pull over for emergency vehicles, said Jeremy Hansen, public information officer for the Tooele Police Department.
Failure to pull over for emergency vehicles also causes accidents, reduces safety and the ability of first responders to render help, according to Hansen.
Utah code 41-6a-904 states that when an emergency vehicle approaches, the operator of a vehicle needs to “yield the right of way and immediately move to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right-hand edge of the curb or highway.”