Officials: DWI project was successful

The Washington County Sheriff's Office has concluded its “Selective DWI Enforcement” project.

The project was funded by a grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety, which allowed the sheriff's office to place additional deputies on overtime at targeted locations to detect and apprehend drunk drivers.

The enforcement was operated from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from July 3 through Aug. 11. This project ended so authorities could participate in a national program, “You Drink & Drive. You Lose,” that begins Friday and runs through Sept. 3.

During the grant funded enforcement, a total of 240 contacts were made during the project period. Of those contacts, 326 violations were written. Violations included but are not limited to: 28 for driving while intoxicated; 18 alcohol violations involving minors; eight violations involving illegal drugs; and four involving an open alcoholic beverage.

In addition, there were four driving while under suspension violations, 118 speeding violations, 26 vehicle defect violations, 10 violations for no vehicle insurance, nine driver's license violations and 135 other traffic violations.

Other violations included, but are not limited to: stop sign violations, driving left of center, driving on the highway shoulders, failure to signal and license plate violations.

Based on the results of the selective, the sheriff's office considers the project a success. This was the ninth consecutive summer that the sheriff's office has conducted the DWI Enforcement Program, which has netted 237 drunk drivers, 202 minors involved with alcohol, 122 drug violations and 1,200 speeding violations.