New Year’s DUI Enforcement Kicks Off with 329 Arrests

STATEWIDE — The new year brought new problems for  329 Colorado drivers arrested for impaired driving over New Year’s Eve DUI enforcement, that ran between Dec. 30 and Jan. 5. In addition, preliminary reports from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) indicate that there were 153 impaired driving fatalities in 2014 and 466 fatalities overall.

“Our goal is to reduce the number of both alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related traffic fatalities in 2015,” said Col. Scott Hernandez, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Last year we increased impaired driving arrests by over 23% and educated people about the risks of driving impaired.  We will continue to do so this year.”

Seventy-three law enforcement agencies participated in the New Year’s campaign. Preliminary reports show that the highest DUI arrest totals came from Colorado State Patrol (50 arrests), Aurora Police Department (49 arrests), Denver Police (47 arrests) and Colorado Springs Police Department (32 arrests).

In 2014, 7,825 people were arrested for impaired driving during the 12 The Heat is On enforcement periods – averaging approximately 650 DUI arrests per enforcement period. The largest number of arrests occurred during the following enforcement periods: Fall Festival (1,854 arrests), Spring Events (1,806 arrests) and Labor Day (1,102 arrests).

“CDOT, CSP and local law enforcement work hand-in-hand year after year to reduce the number of impaired drivers and traffic fatalities – especially those involving alcohol or drugs,” said Darrell Lingk, Director of the CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety. “While we won’t be able to have zero fatalities in 2015, we will continue to strive for this goal each year.”

The Heat Is On campaign runs throughout the year with 12 specific high visibility impaired driving enforcement periods centered on national holidays and large public events. Enforcement periods can include sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and additional law enforcement on duty dedicated to impaired driving enforcement.  More details about the campaign, including impaired driving enforcement plans, arrest totals and safety tips can be found at HeatIsOnColorado.com.