Wayne County, Michigan

Sheriff, local PDs plan to make area roadways “Super Safe” during the Super Bowl

The Super Bowl has become not only the most watched sporting event in the world, but one of the biggest party nights of the year, with football fans everywhere hosting parties to watch the Big Game.

Since many people attending those parties will be consuming alcohol, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office, along with numerous suburban police agencies, will be out in force this weekend striving to keep local roadways “Super Safe for the Super Bowl,” Sheriff Warren C. Evans said today.

Evans said his office, which administers state grant funds for OWI patrols throughout Wayne County, will be stepping up its number of officers on the road looking for drunken drivers. Also adding extra patrol presence in their communities will be police departments from Dearborn Heights, Northville Township, Romulus, Southgate, Taylor, Trenton and Westland.

Evans said that extra patrols will begin Friday night, but the heavy emphasis will take place from Sunday afternoon until about 3AM Monday morning.

“Football is often a game of averages. Based on prior experience, one team will know what the other may do in certain situations,” Evans said. “It’s the same for us in law enforcement. We know from experience that drinking and driving is more prevalent during the Super Bowl than on a typical weekend, so we have to adjust our game plan, just as successful football teams adjust theirs.”

During Super Bowl Sunday last year, 190 people were arrested in Michigan for drunk driving, according to the Michigan State Police, Criminal Justice Information Center. There were four fatal crashes, one of which involved alcohol.

“Last year in Wayne County,” Evans said, “we saw a greater number of accidents that involved alcohol on Super Bowl Sunday, compared to Friday, Saturday and Monday. We were fortunate that none of the accidents last year resulted in any fatalities and we want to keep it that way this year.”

The number of had-been-drinking fatal crashes on Super Bowl weekend tends to be higher than a typical weekend, according to statewide statistics. An average of 4.3 had-been-drinking fatal crashes was reported that weekend from 2001-2006 in Michigan, compared to an average of 4.1 for all weekends.
Sheriff Evans offers the following tips for a fun and safe Super Bowl.

If you think you see a drunken driver, call 911 immediately.
Designate a sober driver before the party begins.
Recognize designated drivers by paying for their food or a tank of gas.
Program numbers of local cab companies in a cell phone before going out.
Always buckle up – it’s your best defense against impaired drivers.

For the 2008 fiscal year, which began October 1, Evans said the county’s police agencies were awarded $755,000 from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning for targeted enforcement periods throughout the year, more than doubling Wayne County’s previous budget of $325,000. The $430,000 increase over last year gives county police agencies their largest fund ever to conduct seatbelt and drunken driving enforcement.