Program Targets Holiday Drinking During National Impaired Driving Crackdown

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) this holiday season will focus efforts on bars across the Commonwealth known to have sold alcohol to convicted drunk drivers, Treasurer Deb Goldberg announced today.

“This enforcement helps to prevent impaired driving and reduce overall criminal activity,” Goldberg said. “The program is an effective deterrent to overserving and a proven tool for promoting safer roads and highways in Massachusetts.”

Run in conjunction with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Impaired Driving Crackdown, the ABCC’s Sale to Intoxicated Persons (SIP) program will be in effect Thanksgiving Eve through New Year’s Eve.

The ABCC will also work with local police departments that have identified high-risk locations in their communities.

Alcohol is involved in 40 percent of traffic crash fatalities resulting in 17,013 fatalities and injuring an estimated 275,000 people annually costing billions of dollars. Data indicates that well over 50 percent of impaired driving arrests originate at bars.

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