‘Tis the Season for Christmas Parties and OUI

Just in time for Christmas and New Year parties, police are stepping up their patrols looking for drunk or impaired drivers, but this enforcement will last well into next year.

Bangor Police Sgt. Cathy Rumsey says a 10-thousand dollar grant from the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety will allow Bangor police to designate specific law enforcement efforts toward sobriety check points. 

Sgt. Rumsey says far too many people are missing the point of offering to be the designated driver for the group.

"I have personally seen it happen where the designated drive is just the person who had the least amount to drink, as opposed to staying sober," states Sgt. Rumsey.

In Maine, your first offense for Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol, or OUI, is a minimum 500 dollar fine, and an 90-day license suspension.

The Drive Sober Maine campaign will be operated by the Bangor PD through next September.