No tricks this Halloween — DUI enforcement starts tomorrow
STATEWIDE — As the holiday season approaches, The Heat Is On continues to stop impaired drivers. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Colorado State Patrol (CSP) and local law agencies will team up for the Halloween-heightened DUI enforcement period from Oct. 31 through Nov. 4. The annual Heat Is On Halloween enforcement will include 90 Colorado law enforcement agencies to ensure everyone on the roads gets home safely.
“Last October, 24 people tragically died in Colorado in alcohol-related crashes. Those fatalities accounted for 42 percent of the total fatalities that month,” said Shoshana Lew, executive director of CDOT. “If you choose to drink this Halloween weekend, plan a sober ride ahead of time. Impaired drivers put everyone on the road at risk.”
Last year, The Heat Is On Halloween DUI enforcement resulted in 378 DUI arrests, with the Colorado Springs Police Department (39 arrests), Denver Police Department (30 arrests) and Loveland Police Department (14 arrests) making the most arrests. CSP troops made 77 arrests.
“There will be more pedestrians out on Halloween evening than usual, so it’s imperative for people who plan to drive do so sober,” said Col. Matthew Packard, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “It’s a matter of personal accountability. There are many alternative options to driving under the influence, including public transportation and ride-hailing services. Remember, consuming even one drink can affect your ability to drive.”
CDOT, CSP and partnering law agencies recently arrested 1526 impaired drivers during the six-week Fall Festivals DUI enforcement period. The Denver Police Department (163 arrests), Colorado Springs Department (139 arrests) and Arvada Police Department (56 arrests) making the most arrests. This is a 19% decrease from the 1,877 arrest during the same enforcement period last year.
Last year, there were 209 passenger vehicle fatalities on Colorado roads involving impaired drivers, accounting for more than one-third of all traffic fatalities in 2018. A complete list of arrests is at heatisoncolorado.com under The Heat Is On Arrest tab.
ABOUT THE HEAT IS ON
The CDOT Highway Safety Office provides funding to Colorado law enforcement for impaired driving enforcement, education and awareness campaigns. The Heat Is On campaign runs throughout the year, with 16 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. Find more details about the campaign, including impaired driving enforcement plans, arrest totals and safety tips at HeatIsOnColorado.com.
WHOLE SYSTEM. WHOLE SAFETY.
To heighten safety awareness, CDOT recently announced its Whole System — Whole Safety initiative. This project takes a systematic statewide approach to safety combining the benefits of CDOT’s programs that address driving behaviors, our built environment and the organization's operations. The goal is to improve the safety of Colorado’s transportation network by reducing the rate and severity of crashes and improving the safety of all transportation modes. The program has one simple mission—to get everyone home safely.
ABOUT CDOT
CDOT has approximately 3,000 employees located at its Denver headquarters and in regional offices throughout Colorado, and manages more than 23,000 lane miles of highway and 3,429 bridges. CDOT also manages grant partnerships with a range of other agencies, including metropolitan planning organizations, local governments and airports. It also administers Bustang, the state-owned and operated interregional express service. Governor Polis has charged CDOT to further build on the state’s intermodal mobility options.
