Extra traffic enforcement planned in Cedar Rapids during Super Bowl

Cedar Rapids police will be conducting extra traffic enforcement on Sunday as football fans enjoy the Super Bowl.

Sgt. Cristy Hamblin, a police spokeswoman, said additional officers will be looking for impaired drivers and those who aren't using seat belts. It's part of a joint effort between the National Football League, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and other state and local law enforcement agencies.

Police issued a reminder to residents Wednesday to act responsibly if they plan on drinking alcohol on Super Bowl Sunday.

In 2008, more than 11,000 people died in highway crashes involving an alcohol impaired driver with an illegal blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher, which accounts for 32 percent of all traffic fatalities that year, according to the NHTSA. On Super Bowl Sunday and the six hours of the next morning, 49 percent of the fatalities occurred in crashes where a driver had a blood alcohol concentration level of 0.08 or higher.

Five of the seven driving deaths in Cedar Rapids in 2009 involved intoxicated drivers on alcohol or some type of drug, police said.