Beginning August 12, 2010, and ending September 6, 2010, every major law enforcement agency in King County, Washington, will be participating in the Washington State’s Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign. The King County DUI task force will include police agencies from Algona, Auburn, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Clyde Hill, Covington, Des Moines, Duvall-Carnation, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Normandy Park, North Bend, Pacific, Port of Seattle, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Snoqualmie, Tukwila and Woodinville Police Departments, and the Washington State Patrol. The Bothell Police Department will also be involved, conducting patrols as part of the Snohomish County DUI and Target Zero Task Force.
The organized effort is being touted by the Washington Safety Traffic Commission as the largest ever summer DUI enforcement campaign. Statewide, over 178 police agencies are participating. If it is true that there will be increased patrols searching for impaired drivers, and this isn’t just a marketing campaign, the use of designated drivers and taxi cabs if you have consumed even small amounts of alcohol would seem to be better advice than usual. Even the casual, non-impaired driver can be caught up in a DUI task force event when there will be more pressure than usual to make DUI related arrests.