Marlborough Officer Honored for Drunken Driving Work

A Marlborough police officer was among those honored recnetly by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Massachusetts for their work to combat drunken driving. 

Officer Paul Connors received an Honorable Mention Award for his continued commitment to enforcing the drunk driving laws during MADD Massachusetts'  annual Drive for Life law enforcement recognition breakfast at Devens Common Center on May 23rd.

There are roughly 16,000 OUI arrests in Massachusetts every year, averaging out to nearly 44 drunk driving arrests per day. One in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime.

"Keeping our roads safe is dangerous and thankless work," MADD spokesman David DeIuliis said in a statement. "We consider the men and women of law enforcement everyday heroes and it is our honor and to recognize Marlborough PD and saying thank you for their commitment to enforcing our impaired driving laws."

Captain Timothy Naze of the Marlborough police department said vigorous enforcement of the laws is necessary to keep roads safe.

 “Our mission is to educate the public on traffic safety and to facilitate the implementation of programs that reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities on the roadways of Marlborough," he said. "Clearly, vigorous enforcement of the drunk driving laws can help to further that mission by protecting our citizens from a very dangerous combination of alcohol and driving.”

MADD Massachusetts honored more than forty local police officers from 29 departments . Combined with the Massachusetts State Police, these officers made over 2,000 OUI arrests in 2011.

"While we've made progress over the last few years, drunk driving remains a very serious problem in Massachusetts," said DeIuliis. "MADD will continue to support initiatives to save lives, including the passage of Senate Bill 1746 which would require ignition interlock devices (IIDs) for first offenders in Massachusetts."

Interlocks are proven to be up to 90 percent effective, yet it is estimated that only one in eight convicted drunk drivers each year currently get the device, and most of those are repeat offenders.  Sixty-five percent of the public support mandatory interlocks for first time offenders, and 85 percent of the public support mandatory interlocks for repeat offenders.