The Joplin Police Department, as part of the Southwest Missouri DWI Task Force, receives a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportations Highway Safety Division for participation in the campaign to stop people from driving impaired. Enforcement efforts will be increased during this Thanksgiving weekend and will focus on reducing deaths and serious injuries caused by impaired drivers.

Consider some of the consequences if you are caught driving while intoxicated:

• For the first conviction (or first conviction in over five years), your license will be suspended for 30 days followed by a 60-day suspension if a hardship license is not obtained.

• A second conviction results in a $1,000 fine, a year-long revocation of your license and up to a year in jail. You will also be required to install an ignition interlock system on your vehicle, preventing your car from starting when you have alcohol on your breath.

• Third and subsequent convictions can result in a maximum $5,000 fine, a 10-year license denial, and/or up to seven years in jail.

• If you cause a fatal crash while intoxicated, you could be charged with involuntary manslaughter, a felony resulting in up to seven years of jail time, a $5,000 fine or both.

• Insurance coverage will be difficult to find and if you do, the rates will be significantly higher.

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