The South Dakota Highway Patrol is placing special emphasis on catching intoxicated drivers through the coming Labor Day weekend.
About 11,700 people were ticketed for drunken or drugged driving last year in the state.
“The goal of the increased effort is to keep our roads fatality free,” said Col. Dan Mosteller, superintendent of the Highway Patrol.
“We’re telling South Dakotans that we’re going to be out in force,” he said. “We hope this will encourage people to find a sober driver. And if it doesn’t, we’ll be there to take them off the road.”
The average cost of a first-time drunken driving conviction in South Dakota is $4,000.
That includes fines, the cost of drawing blood for alcohol testing, wrecker fees, legal fees, and an average increase of $2,500 in insurance costs.
Topics Personal Auto
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.
Trump Demands $1 Billion From Harvard as Prolonged Standoff Appears to Deepen 
The $3 Trillion AI Data Center Build-Out Becomes All-Consuming for Debt Markets 
Nine-Month 2025 Results Show P/C Underwriting Gain Skyrocketed 
Insurance Issue Leaves Some Players Off World Baseball Classic Rosters 
