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Police in Almont, Dryden, Imlay City and Lapeer, along with Lapeer County Sheriff's Department deputies and troopers from the Michigan State Police Department will join officers from 164 other agencies in 44 of the state's 83 counties in a federally-funded drinking and driving crackdown, billed as "Over the Limit. Under Arrest."

According to a spokesman for the state Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), drugs and/or alcohol played a part in 382 fatalities on state highways last year. The spokesman added that two of the four people who died in accidents on Michigan roadways last year over the Fourth of July weekend where involved in alcohol-related crashes.

Lapeer County Sheriff Ronald Kalanquin said about half of all highway fatalities in the county are alcohol related. He said he expects alcohol will take the sparkle out of the Fourth of July weekend for somewhere between 45 and 50 people in the county.

Kalanquin said his deputies will combine "Over the Limit. Under Arrest" efforts with his own department's "Sheriff Tell Our Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers" program to step up enforcement of all alcohol-related statutes.

"I believe it's better to prevent things than to respond to them afterward," Kalanquin said. Noting a "sense of despair" across the county, Kalanquin, said the high cost of fuel, food and medical care may keep people closer to home and change the mix of alcohol-related incidents his deputies deal with.

"With the price of gas, we don't know what to expect," said Chief Pat Nael, Imlay City's chief of police. He said his agency typically sees a 25 to 30% increase in drunk driving arrests between June and August. Nael said a lot of those come from people who, "start partying too soon on Friday night or forget to leave the party up north Sunday night."

He said the village sees a spike in traffic along M-53 and I-69 on holiday weekends. Nael said with the Fourth being on a Friday, he expects July 3 to be a little busier than usual. He said he expects to add one, possibly two officers, for patrols on the holiday weekend.

However, he noted "last year was pretty quiet. We only had two OUILs (operating under the influence of liquor)."

Lt. Patrick McCreedy, commander of the State Police Post in Lapeer, said his people will put all routine activities, like report writing, on hold over the holiday weekend in order to step up road patrols on I-69, M-24 and M-53.

He noted that while there's been a shift in perception surrounding drinking and driving, "it's still an issue."

According to an OHSP spokesman, while there was a 13% decline in impaired driving related fatalities last year, drugs and/or alcohol were still a factor in 35% of the state's highway fatalities.

Almont's Chief of Police, John Stano, said he'll be boosting road patrols 50% over the holiday weekend. He said while the village is pretty much a quite residential community, "you never know. We're going to be ready just in case."

"Those who choose to drive drunk should consider themselves forewarned," cautions OHSP Director Michael L. Prince. "Law enforcement in Michigan states a zero-tolerance approach to drunk driving and you will be detected, arrested and prosecuted."

Conviction for drunk driving is a pricey affair, with a first conviction carrying a maximum penalty of 93-days in jail, 360-hours of community service, a 180-day license suspension and a $500 fine. First time drunk drivers will also have six points tack on their license and have to pay $2,000 in fees over two years.

Phil Foley may be reached at (810) 664-0811, Ext. 8148 or pfoley@lapeergroup.com