The Heat Is On: DUI Enforcement in Colorado
The Colorado State Patrol has increased both saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints to help make motorists aware of DUI laws.
August 22, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Heat Is On: DUI Enforcement in Colorado
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Colorado's summertime DUI enforcement effort, known as "100 Days of Heat," continues through Labor Day. The intensive campaign kicked off over Memorial Day weekend, aiming to save lives by deterring people from driving after drinking alcohol.
The Colorado State Patrol said it has increased both saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints to help make motorists aware of DUI laws. Law enforcement agencies across the state arrested 599 drivers for DUI over the Memorial Day weekend. Police departments with the most DUI arrests included: the Colorado State Patrol (209); Denver Police Department (65); Colorado Springs Police Department (44); and Aurora Police Department (43).
In 2008, more than a third of all alcohol-related driving fatalities in Colorado happened between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend. Officials this year have more than 150 sobriety checkpoints planned for the summer.
Jefferson County led Colorado with 22 alcohol-related fatalities in 2008. The Jefferson County Sheriff's office said its goal this year is not to arrest large numbers of drunk drivers, but rather to increase awareness of DUI laws with the highly visible checkpoints, thereby reducing drunk driving violations.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the number of drunk drivers has fallen drastically over the years. In 1973, the percentage of drivers with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 percent (the level at which a driver is considered too drunk to drive) was 7.5 percent. By 2007, that figure had dropped to 2.2 percent -- a percentage still unacceptably high to law enforcement officials.
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