Ocean City Police CARRY OUT MASSIVE ENFORCEMENT EFFORT

Project Saving Our Loved Ones (SOLO) Intensifies Patrols

To Catch Impaired Drivers and Save Live

Ocean City, MD (November 24, 2012) – [Ocean City Police engaged in Project Saving Our Loved Ones (SOLO), a Statewide initiative to combat impaired driving and underage drinking.  An expansion of the standard enforcement efforts launched last month, Project SOLO deploys mass patrols on area roads that are known to have higher instances of alcohol related crashes. The high risk zones, which are identified through data analysis of crashes, will be targeted and saturated by law enforcement through the end of the year.

“Impaired driving is a grave issue that results in the death of someone in Maryland every 57 hours,” said Chief Bernadette DiPino. “Just one loss of life is one too many, and a dedicated effort such as Project SOLO will help reduce such preventable, shocking consequences from happening on our roadways.”

The intense enforcement effort began in November and on November 24^th, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.,multiple Ocean City Police officers saturated specific stretches of roadway until early Sunday morning to identify and arrest drunk drivers. The enforcement effort was successful and led to the arrests of multiple drunk drivers.

Project SOLO enforces Maryland’s Impaired Driving Laws, most prominently, at night. In 2010, alcohol impairmed fatal crashes were four times higher at night than during the day, nationwide. Fifty five percent of drunk drivers were involved in fatal crashes between midnight and 3:00 a.m., and 42 percent between 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.

“Project SOLO is about taking impaired drivers off the road, saving lives and raising awareness of the importance of safe driving,” said Chief DiPino. “Every law enforcement official involved in this initiative is thoroughly trained and briefed to effectively target impaired driving.”

For more information about Project SOLO or to arrange an interview with the Maryland Highway Safety Office, Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, Ocean City Police, Maryland State Police, or family members of drunk driving victims, please contact Pfc. Michael Levy at 410-723-6665 or mlevy@oceancitymd.gov.

There will be four more Project SOLO enforcement initiatives conducted in Ocean City during the month of December.