JCPD's latest campaign nets 623 tickets

The Jefferson City Police Department issued 623 citations during the national "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" enforcement campaign from Aug. 21 through Sept. 7.

That total includes DWI, 8; driving while drugged, 1; speeding, 121; adult seat belt violation, 69; minor in possession, 2; driving while suspended or revoked, 28; operating a motor vehicle without a valid license, 29; driving with no insurance, 135; other hazardous moving violations (such as defective vehicle equipment/improper registration), 212.

Authorities said in 2014, there were 197 fatal and 659 serious injury crashes in Missouri involving at least one impaired driver - about one impaired driving fatality every 1¾ days.

From Sept. 13-19, the department also participated with other Missouri law enforcement agencies in the statewide Child Passenger Safety Enforcement Campaign in an effort to encourage motorists to buckle up and save lives.

Missouri law requires all children under the age of 8 to be in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat unless they are 80 pounds or 4-feet 9-inches tall.

During the enforcement effort, a total of 251 traffic citations were issued, including DWI, 3; adult seat belt violations, 34; speeding, 66; no child restraint, 2; driving while suspended/revoked, 8; driving without a valid operator's license, 15; no insurance, 56; other hazardous moving violations, 67.

Funding for this effort was provided through a grant from the MoDOT's Traffic and Highway Safety Division in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Missouri Safety Center.