Law enforcement officials have a new tool in the crackdown on traffic offenders.
The Missouri Highway Patrol's new GPS system to track speeding motorists was unveiled Friday, the first day of the annual "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" campaign.
The new technology will be mounted on a patrol helicopter and employed during the operation, which continues through Sept. 5, the end of the three-day Labor Day weekend.
The Jefferson City police and the Cole County sheriff's departments will join with state troopers to prevent impaired driving through awareness programs and to arrest violators.
Col. Brent Johnson, patrol superintendent, calls impaired driving "a huge concern."
Why? Because these accidents are preventable and, invariably, life-changing, for both victims and offenders.
The magnitude of the problem is evident in these statistics. During August and September of last year, the statewide operation resulted in 389 DWI arrests and 26 DUI drug arrests.
And the consequences are severe. Jefferson City police report that, during 2015 in Missouri, 196 people died and 663 were seriously injured in crashes involving at least one impaired driver. During last year's Labor Day weekend, there were five fatalities and 53 serious injuries from traffic crashes involving at least one substance impaired driver.
Impaired drivers not only must live with the knowledge of the damage they have done, they may be contemplating those consequences while in prison.
Offenders who cause a fatal crash while impaired may be charged with involuntary manslaughter, punishable by up to seven years imprisonment.
Other possible consequences include fines, jail time, driver's license suspension, the costs of an ignition interlock device, attorney's fees and higher insurance rates.
All of those dire, costly possibilities are easily avoided; if you're impaired, don't drive.
Commit to that decision while clear-headed and aware of what may await as a result of one impaired, poor decision.