DUI task force set to pull people in
Law enforcement from across the Panhandle will be available Friday at the North Idaho State Fair as part of a community outreach effort by the North Idaho DUI Task Force. Officers and deputies will be giving breath tests to the community for free and fun to prevent drunk driving.
File photo
The North Idaho DUI Task Force will attend the North Idaho State Fair for some fun with community outreach from 5 p.m. to closing Friday.
The task force will have a booth at the north end of the fair to share information that could prevent a DUI.
“Our biggest goal is education,” said Sgt. Austin Rosedale, the task force lead. “A lot of people, especially in those first DUI charges, they’ll say ‘I didn’t know, I thought I was safe to drive.’”
Often when people blow above the legal limit of 0.08% for blood alcohol content, they don’t feel inebriated enough to stay off the road, Rosedale said.
The task force will teach people to recognize the signs of impairment through fun interactions with the crowd.
Task force members will give anyone who’d like one a breath test for intoxication levels, or people can try on “drunk goggles” to see through the eyes of an impaired person.
“The overall goal of the DUI task force is to eliminate impairment-related injury and fatality crashes,” Rosedale said. “And we prefer to do that with prevention.”
At the fair, people can also talk to task force members, ask them questions, learn about the task force or hang out.
“It’s risk-free to see if they are safe to drive,” Rosedale said.
The fair is an outreach opportunity, so there will not be an emphasis after the fair. Regular patrols from local jurisdictions will be covering the streets for DUIs, but the task force will focus on maximizing the opportunity to connect with the community, Rosedale said.
“We’re working the prevention angle specifically at this event,” he added.
The North Idaho DUI Task Force is a grant-funded team of officers from across the Panhandle, assembled to target DUIs in coordinated efforts around holidays and events.
The team seeks to educate, create awareness and charge DUIs to reduce the number of impairment-related crashes in Kootenai County.
The next targeted emphasis will be during Paul Bunyan Days in St. Maries, then Labor Day throughout Kootenai County.