August 30, 2019 3:45 a.m.
Grant funding is providing the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office with increased traffic safety enforcement through Labor Day weekend.
Deputies are patrolling the roadways in the county with a specific focus of identifying and stopping impaired drivers. Sergeant Mark Norris said DCSO encourages community members to report suspected impaired drivers to law enforcement immediately. Norris said their goal is to prevent deaths, injuries, and property damage by removing impaired drivers from the roadways.
Norris said deputies are also taking part in the annual Click it or Ticket high visibility campaign, enforcing seatbelt and child safety restraint laws to help keep families safe. Norris said DCSO “cannot overstate the importance of wearing a seat belt”. He said while it is the law, it is more than that. Norris said by far, buckling up is the simplest thing people can do to limit injury or save their life during a crash. He said so often the loss of life could have been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt.
The DCSO release said the focused patrols are in addition to regular staffing levels, which allows the department to participate in the increased safety enforcement without removing other resources. The funding for the campaign is provided by the Oregon Department of Transportation.