Thurston County Sheriff's Office to increase impaired driving enforcement this summer
Thurston County deputies will increase impaired driving enforcement during the summer after securing a state grant.
The Thurston County Sheriff's Office is funding the additional patrols with a $50,000 grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, the state's designated highway safety office.
The Board of County Commissioners approved an interlocal agreement for the grant funding during its May 20 meeting. In a Monday Facebook post, Sheriff Derek Sanders said the money will help fund about 100 six-hour overtime shifts through the end of September. These shifts will be focused on weekends and other 'high risk days,' according to a news release.
'We are approaching the most deadly time of the year on our public roadways, with nearly half of our fatal crashes involving an impaired driver,' Sanders said in his post. 'If you're going to drink, make a plan ahead of time and save lives.'
Earlier this year, the Sheriff's Office unsuccessfully applied for a grant to fund a full-time deputy who would be dedicated to impaired driving enforcement.
'Although we were not selected for that opportunity, we are grateful to have secured this critical summer funding, which will help us make a meaningful difference on our roadways,' the release says.
The Sheriff's Office says impaired driving, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, continues to be one of the most 'preventable and devastating threats to public safety.'
The release states Thurston County has seen an 'alarming rise in serious injury and fatal collisions involving impairment.' The Olympian has asked the Sheriff's Office to provide data to support this.
Data from the WA Traffic Safety Commission indicates the number of impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes in Thurston County was 9 in 2020, 10 in 2021, 11 in 2022, 20 in 2023 and 18 in 2024.
Over that same time period, impaired drivers ages 25-30 were involved in 15 fatal crashes, those 31-35 were involved in 9 crashes and those 36-40 were involved in 11 crashes.
The data shows 76.5% of impaired drivers involved in fatal crashes were men. About half of these crashes were single-vehicle crashes and half were multi-vehicle crashes.
The data indicates 27 such crashes occurred on county roads followed by 14 on city streets, 12 on interstate highways, 7 on state routes and 7 on U.S. highways.
The WA Traffic Safety Commission does not have a data dashboard that shows the number of impaired drivers involved in non-fatal crashes.
The Sheriff's Office says the new grant will allow it to take a proactive approach to protecting Thurston County residents and visitors.
'We remain committed to supporting the state's goal of reducing traffic-related fatalities and are grateful for the opportunity to contribute to making Washington's roads safer for everyone,' the release says.
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