Lynn and state cops join forces on OUIs

LYNN – Both Lynn and state police are beefing up patrols to combat drunken drivers over the next three weeks, including Labor Day weekend.A state grant will provide an extra Lynn police car over the next three weeks, beginning today, for the sole purpose of arresting drunken drivers.The Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau’s “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” initiative has provided funding to local police departments for extra patrols specifically to combat drunken driving.The initiative will target drivers Wednesdays through Sundays from 2 p.m. to 7 a.m. until Sept. 3.In a separate State Police initiative to combat drunken driving, State Police announced a sobriety checkpoint would be set up at an undisclosed location in Essex County this Friday night into Saturday morning.State Police Colonel Mark Delaney in a statement said the checkpoint would be set up on a secondary highway and hopes it will educate the public.”The purpose is to further educate the motoring public and strengthen the public’s awareness to the need of detecting and removing those motorists who operate under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs,” Delaney said. “The selection of the vehicles will not be arbitrary, safety will be assured and any inconveniences to motorists will be minimized with advanced notice.”A Lynn police spokesman said the city’s initiative this month does not include roadblocks to check for sobriety,Lynn police officers will also target erratic drivers as well as those breaking other motor vehicle laws, including seatbelt regulations.There were 429 fatalities in Massachusetts from motor vehicle crashes in 2006 and 41 percent of those were caused by drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Bureau.Nationally, the Labor Day holiday weekend is one of the deadliest for drunken driving accidents. About 39 percent of fatal Labor Day accidents are attributed to operators under the influence, while only 30 percent of accidents during the rest of the year are caused by drunken drivers, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.