In honor of “420 day” this Friday, April 20, King County Sheriff’s Office Precinct 3 (SE King County) will be conducting an impaired driver emphasis patrol with the hopes of minimizing violators on the “marijuana holiday” that many people celebrate on 4/20 each year.
This emphasis patrol is being implemented on this day because statistics show that fatalities related to marijuana-impaired drivers on 4/20 often equal or surpass Super Bowl Sundays, which historically hold the worst statistics for each year.
Additional statistics have shown that while impaired driving attributed to alcohol alone has gone down, impaired driving by drugs and drug/alcohol combinations have gone up significantly.
“With the help of the media to broadcast and publicize the effort, we want to dissuade as many people as possible from driving while impaired,” Sgt. Ryan Abbott said.
Finally, on the afternoon of 4/20 we will have deputies working with a dedicated focus on impaired driver detection and enforcement.
Precinct 3 covers a geographical area of approximately 700 square miles. I-90 is the northern boundary for the precinct, and the cities of Renton, Kent, and Auburn border the western side of the precinct. The eastern boundary extends into the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and the southern boundary ends at the Pierce County line. Precinct 3 facilities are located in the City of Maple Valley.
