Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
JULY 4, 2026 EVANGELINE PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE WILL CONDUCT SATURATED PATROL LOOKING FOR IMPAIRED DRIVERS!!!!
Law enforcement will have "zero tolerance" with impaired drivers
July 1, 2026 - Anyone in Louisiana who drives impaired during the Independence Day holiday may be watching July 4 fireworks from the back of a police car.
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, a law enforcement campaign sponsored by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, will be in effect throughout the state from Thursday, July 2 through Monday, July 6. During that time, extra officers will be on the road, specifically looking for impaired drivers.
Any driver found to be impaired by drugs or alcohol will be arrested and taken to jail, LHSC Executive Director Lisa Freeman said. By spotting and arresting impaired drivers, law enforcement agents are making travel safer for people visiting family and friends during the holiday, Freeman said.
"There's no excuse for impaired driving, and there will be zero tolerance for impaired drivers," Freeman said. "Our commitment is to the safety of the traveling public, and nothing threatens that safety more than impaired driving."
From 2020 to 2024, 1,181 people have been killed in Louisiana in alcohol-related vehicle crashes, according to data from the Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety at LSU. Those fatalities account for 36.2% of all crash fatalities during those years.
"In the hands of an impaired driver, a vehicle becomes a lethal weapon that has claimed too many lives in Louisiana," Freeman said. "By now, everyone knows not to drink and drive, and those who do it will have a chance to reconsider their choices from a jail cell."
AAA projects that 61.4 million people will drive at least 50 miles from home during the holiday. With more cars on the road, impaired driving presents an even higher risk to the public, Freeman said.
"From 2020 through 2024, 20 people died in Louisiana during the July 4 holiday from alcohol-related crashes," Freeman said. "Our goal is zero deaths, and the best way to do that is to remove impaired drivers from our roads."
Freeman warned that drivers impaired by drugs - either illegal or by prescription - also will be arrested for impaired driving.
"Any drug that alters your senses, slows your reactions, or impacts your judgment is an impairing substance, including legal prescriptions," Freeman said. "It is the drivers' responsibility to plan ahead if they will be drinking or taking drugs by getting a designated driver, hiring a taxi, or using a rideshare.
Our wish is for everyone to safely enjoy our nation's 250th birthday."
