From December 12th, 2025, through January 1, 2026, the South Dakota Department of Public Safety-Office of Highway Safety, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Wagner Police Department will step up efforts to stop impaired driving and protect road users’ safety in alignment with the winter holiday high-visibility enforcement campaign, Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

Like other festive seasons, the winter holidays are a time of year when many alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities occur. In the combined Decembers of 2019-2023, 4,931 road users were killed in traffic crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver. In December 2023 alone, there were 1,038 alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities, 697 of which involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .15 g/dL or higher — nearly twice the legal limit in almost every state. In South Dakota during the 2019-2023 December months there were 15 people killed, and 237 people injured in alcohol involved traffic crashes.

Driving impaired is not only illegal, it is dangerous and never acceptable. Law enforcement officers will be out in full force to pull over impaired drivers and remove them from the roads to ensure our community stays safe. We ask everyone to follow the law and do their part to keep themselves and other road users safe throughout the winter holiday season. Drunk driving fatalities can be prevented when everyone keeps road safety in mind as they prepare for holiday celebrations.

Drivers should be safe during this winter holiday season by planning ahead if they intend to drink. They shouldn’t wait until after drinking to plan how to get somewhere. Impairment clouds a person’s judgment. Drivers should secure a designated sober driver or call a taxi or rideshare for a sober ride home.

If a driver finds they are unable to drive, they should give their keys to a sober driver so that person can get them home safely. When a friend has been drinking and is considering driving, friends should be proactive — take away the keys and help them get a sober ride home. If anyone spots a drunk driver, contact local law enforcement.

For more information on impaired driving, visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving and https://drivesafesd.com/