Madison drivers were urged to stay alert during Super Bowl weekend as the Madison Police Department staffed extra patrols on the lookout for intoxicated drivers Saturday.
As part of a national grant to combat Wisconsin’s infamous drunken driving problem, MPD had a number of extra patrols specifically targeting at-risk drivers during what was expected to be a large partying weekend as the Green Bay Packers traveled to Dallas.
MPD received a $40,000 grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to combat drunk driving throughout 2011, Lt. Tony Bitterman said.
According to a statement from the MPD, the grant is coordinated through the Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Safety.
“[The initiative has] the objective of detecting and apprehending motor vehicle operators who are committing traffic violations and/or who are operating a motor vehicle while impaired,” the statement said.
In addition to the 31 regularly scheduled Saturday night officers, four patrols were paid overtime with grant funding Feb. 5 to specifically patrol for intoxicated drivers, Bitterman said.
The statement said the department supports the “Zero In Wisconsin” campaign, which advocates zero toleration for drunk driving.
“We hope that we are doing a little education in regard to [driving while intoxicated],” Bitterman said. “If we have more officers out there specifically dedicated to apprehending impaired drivers, that should have an effect.”
The department also received grants for speed enforcement, pedestrian right of way laws and bike law enforcement. The municipalities can apply for the grants on a yearly cycle through a written application process, Bitterman said.
Though the amounts of the grants varies from year to year, Bitterman said approximately $4,000 was extended for both the pedestrian and bike law enforcements, and $45,000 was granted for speed enforcement.
Bitterman said the grant cycle runs from October to September. Because the funding was approved in October, Bitterman said the department has sponsored several initiatives through the winter months.
He said the impaired driving initiatives are going to increase as the temperatures get warmer. While only two alcohol initiatives are planned for February, during the warmer months, there may be as many as eight or nine per month.
There will be additional grant-sponsored officers doing primarily alcohol enforcement nearly every weekend throughout the summer, Bitterman said.
MPD spokesperson Joel DeSpain said the department receives grants from both the federal and state level to periodically do increased enforcement of impaired drivers.
The next initiative night is Feb. 18.
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