Vicksburg police issued nearly 200 citations during a holiday crackdown on drunk drivers and traffic violations, but to Chief Walter Armstrong, the most important number is zero — the number of alcohol-related fatalities.
During the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign that ran from Dec. 20 through Jan. 1, VPD arrested seven people accused of driving under the influence and issued 185 other citations.
“We don’t know how many fatalities or traffic crashes we prevented, but we know saturation patrols are a deterrent to those people thinking about committing crime,” Armstrong said.
Throughout the campaign, officers worked overtime to patrol all corners of the city in an effort to keep impaired drivers off the road.
“They gave up their New Year’s Eve and Christmas Eve for the safety of the city,” Armstrong said. “We have some very dedicated officers.”
Saturation patrol did not involve just late night hours that are typically associated with drunk driving.
On Jan. 2, 2012, Andrea Michelle “Shelly” Guider, 34, was killed after a drunk driver struck her vehicle at 10:49 a.m. at the corner of Halls Ferry and North Frontage roads
“Drunk drivers can be out there at any time at any location,” Armstrong said.
Guider’s father-in-law put up a memorial sign in her honor as part of his own campaign to urge people not to drink and drive.
“As far as I know, nobody has done anything like this here,” Warren Guider said of placing the sign.
In addition to cracking down on drunk drivers, police made 169 misdemeanor arrests and 11 felony arrests during the campaign. Six of those arrests were for drug violations, and two were fugitives.
Five citations were written for seatbelt violations, and 10 were handed out for child restraint violations. State law requires children younger than 4 to be secured into a car seat. Children between 4 and 7 who are shorter than 4’ 9” and weigh less than 65 pounds must be in a booster seat.
Vicksburg Police Department gives out child safety seats to qualifying families. Anyone who needs help installing the seat can call the VPD at 601-636-2511 and ask to speak to a child safety seat technician.