Oklahoma prosecutors to drivers: decide the ride home before the first drink

OKLAHOMA CITY (August 19, 2026) — The Oklahoma District Attorneys Council today urged Oklahomans to arrange safe transportation before they drink as the annual national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign begins across America. The campaign runs now through Labor Day, Sept. 7, one of the deadliest stretches of the year on American roads.

The message from Oklahoma prosecutors is simple. Decide how you are getting home before the first drink, not after the last one.

“Every impaired driving case we prosecute started with a decision someone made before they ever turned the key,” said District Attorney Will Drake, chair of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council and president of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association. “Designate a driver. Call a ride. Stay where you are. The decision takes thirty seconds.”

Drake and his fellow prosecutors also urge Oklahomans to call 911 if they see an impaired driver on the road.

“Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” is the national high visibility enforcement campaign run each year by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It pairs a public awareness push with increased patrols and saturation enforcement by participating agencies, running from Aug. 19 through Sept. 7.

Prosecutors and public-safety professionals from across Oklahoma recently concluded two days of specialized impaired-driving training, strengthening the skills and coordination needed to investigate and prosecute cases fairly and effectively. The Impaired Driving Conference, held Aug. 6-7 in Oklahoma City, focused on the practical work behind safer roads: reliable evidence collection, sound courtroom preparation and collaboration among the professionals who handle impaired-driving cases.

The conference and this year’s Drive Sober campaign also come as Oklahoma’s state law on impaired driving changes this fall. Senate Bill 1543, authored by Sen. Bill Coleman of Ponca City and Rep. Emily Gise of Oklahoma City, takes effect Nov. 1.

The measure allows two or more separate driving under the influence violations committed within a one-year period to be charged as a single felony rather than as separate misdemeanors resolved one at a time.

The change closes a gap prosecutors have tracked for years. Because impaired-driving cases often take close to a year to reach resolution, a driver could accumulate additional arrests while the first case remained pending, with each arrest charged as a standalone misdemeanor.

Drake praised the Legislature for acting on the gap in the law.

“Senator Coleman and Representative Gise wrote a law that matches what prosecutors actually see,” Drake said. “This is careful, well-built legislation that will impact every corner of the state. Oklahoma will be safer for it.”