The Hingham police are participating in a crackdown, titled “Driver Sober or Get Pulled Over”, funded by a grant from the State Executive Office of Pubic Safety and Security (EOPSS).

Hingham is one of over 10,000 law enforcement agencies nationwide participating in this effort. This campaign was formerly known as “Over the Limit Under Arrest”.

These grant funds will be used to assign additional officers whose sole purpose is to aggressively identify and arrest all drunk drivers. These patrols will be concentrating their efforts during times and on streets where frequent OUI arrests or OUI crashes have been occurring.

“Every Hingham Police Officer has zero tolerance for drunk drivers”,  Hingham Police Chief Michael Peraino said in a statement. “They know first hand, that for every drunk driver that’s taken off the streets, it’s potentially one less tragedy for some family”.

Hingham has had two traffic fatalities in 2011, one in 2010 and none in 2009. None of those fatalities involved alcohol.

During a previous Labor Day crackdown in 2009, the Hingham Police and the State Police held a Sobriety Checkpoint. That resulted in 12 drivers arrested for OUI during the course of 3 hours.

This crackdown runs from August 19-September 5, 2011, however, removing drunk drivers remains a year round public safety priority. So far in 2011, Hingham Police have arrested 57 drivers for operating under the influence. During the same period in 2010, Hingham Police arrested 42 drivers.

As an additional effort to highlight the importance the Hingham Police have arraigned for a message board to be set up on Route 228 during this crackdown.

The above release was submitted by the Hingham Police Department.