Virginia launches Labor Day DUI enforcement with 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' campaign

Nearly 200 Virginia law enforcement agencies are stepping up patrols and checkpoints through the Labor Day holiday weekend as part of the 2025 Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign to combat drunk driving. The statewide effort will include 705 saturation patrols and 86 sobriety checkpoints.

The push comes as alcohol-related crashes continue to take a toll on the state. In 2024, there were 6,767 alcohol-related crashes, resulting in 318 deaths and more than 4,300 injuries — an 8.5% increase in fatalities compared to the previous year.

“Over last year’s Labor Day weekend in Virginia, ten people lost their lives in traffic crashes, with one-third of those deaths involving a driver who was drinking,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. “These heartbreaking events are avoidable, and I encourage everyone to plan ahead, line up a safe ride home and do not drink and drive.”

For 24 years, the campaign has combined public education with high-visibility enforcement. According to DMV Commissioner Gerald Lackey, who also serves as the governor’s Highway Safety Representative, the goal is to stop impaired drivers before tragedy occurs.

“Ahead of your Labor Day weekend plans, choose to plan for a safe and sober ride home before your festivities,” Lackey said.

Research released this month underscores the challenge: while more than 96% of surveyed Virginia men ages 21 to 35 — the group most likely to drive after drinking — believe it’s important to arrange safe transportation, only 69% frequently follow through.

Since the program’s launch in 2002, alcohol-related crashes in Virginia have fallen nearly 40%, with fatalities down by 11% and injuries nearly cut in half, according to DMV data.

Virginia State Police will also participate in Operation CARE (Crash Awareness Reduction Effort), a national program targeting impaired driving, speeding and seatbelt violations. That effort runs Aug. 29 through Sept. 1.

Colonel Matthew D. Hanley, superintendent of the Virginia State Police, said residents should expect to see a strong law enforcement presence.

“With 181 law enforcement agencies participating throughout the commonwealth, Virginians will see a significantly stepped-up effort to identify and apprehend impaired drivers through the Labor Day holiday,” he said.

The campaign’s latest public awareness push, titled What’s the Damage?, uses research-based messaging and digital creative to remind drivers of the financial, legal and human costs of drunk driving. The campaign is funded through a grant from the Virginia DMV to the Virginia-based Washington Regional Alcohol Program.