In the wake of parish traffic fatalities, Washington Parish Sheriff Randy Seal has instructed his deputies to aggressively enforce traffic laws during the upcoming holiday period.

Those who choose to drive while intoxicated can expect to be arrested and placed in the parish jail, where they will remain for a minimum of eight hours, even after bond has been posted. “There will be no exceptions,” Seal stated. “We will not release anyone who is intoxicated until they have had adequate time to sober up.”

There will be a focused effort on taking drunk drivers off of the road. Several DWI checkpoints are scheduled throughout the holiday season. The checkpoints will be held at various locations throughout the parish.

Seal also instructed his deputies to be aggressive in giving tickets to reckless drivers, excessive speeders and others who violate traffic laws. In addition, deputies will enforce seat belt and child restraint laws.

The Sheriff’s Office is not dependant on revenue received from traffic fines.

“In fact,” Seal said, “it costs the Sheriff’s Office money each time we write a traffic ticket. The small amount we receive from the fine is offset by the cost of the deputy, the vehicle and other resources that we expend. We don’t write tickets for revenue. We write tickets for public safety. The life we save may be yours.”