As the Christmas - New Year's Holiday celebrations increase leading up to Christmas Eve and the Holiday Week, the Omaha Police Department, along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Nebraska Department of Transportation - Office of Highway Safety and numerous other law enforcement agencies across the area, will have extra officers out in force starting Thursday (12/16) through New Year's Day looking for suspected drunk drivers and other traffic violations.
They say over 10,000 Americans were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2019, about 1/3 of all crash deaths.
In Nebraska, 6,412 drivers were arrested for DUI in 2020.
Police say DUI drivers contributed to 76 traffic deaths and 602 injuries in that same time period.
OPD says their officers will show zero tolerance for drunk driving.
If you see a drunk driver on the road, police say to please call 911 with as many details as possible. (location, direction of travel, description of vehicle, driver and license plate).
Officers on this assignment will follow up on those tips immediately.
(Picture from Omaha Police)