As you know, the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is a time of celebration, festivities…and some of the nation’s strongest police DUI crackdown efforts.
The reports are in for this year: the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety conducted nearly 82,000 stops on Arizona drivers, and reported 4,371 DUI arrests between November 24th and January 1st. This is after nearly a month-long statewide DUI task force program involving thousands of police officers.
Although the number of sober designated drivers has continued to increase, the number of DUI arrests continues a three-year upward trend. The average estimated BAC reported for these arrests is a 0.15, meaning that more arrests than usual this year are for Extreme DUI.
- 0.08 < – Arizona legal limit
- 0.15 < – Extreme DUI legal threshold
- 0.20 < – Super-Extreme DUI legal threshold
Holiday numbers for 2012 guarantee that increased DUI task force efforts will continue through upcoming holidays and celebrations. With an ever-growing population here in Arizona, as well as increasing DUI offenses, police forces are cracking down. Don’t take any chances on the road, and always set a plan for how to get home before leaving for any celebration.Program a few phone numbers for taxi services into your cell phone, or hitch a ride with a sober friend.