Full Notification

St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Impaired Driving Initiative- “Project Save Our Loved Ones” (S.O.L.O)

During the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the Anne Arundel County Police Department will participate in “Project Saving Our Loved Ones” (SOLO), a statewide initiative aimed at combating impaired driving and underage drinking and to ultimately save lives and reduce related traffic deaths on area roads.

Project SOLO will partner Anne Arundel County officers with Troopers from the Maryland State Police Glen Burnie Barrack “P”. Project SOLO will deploy mass patrols on area roads that are known to have higher instances of impaired driving arrests and alcohol-related crashes.

These high risk zones, which are identified through impaired driving crash and arrest data collection, will also be targeted by law enforcement between now and the end of the year.

The intense enforcement effort will occur throughout the entire weekend and include on-duty and off-duty officers. Enforcement officers will saturate specific stretches of roadways within the county. Officers participating in the initiative have received specialized training in impaired driving. Drug Recognition Experts (DRE’s) will also be available to assist with the detection of drivers operating vehicles under the influence of drugs.

Project SOLO will emphasize enforcement of Maryland’s impaired driving laws most prominently at night. In 2011, alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes nationwide was more than four times higher at night than during the day.