Arizona law enforcement gearing up for holiday DUI season

Posted on November 30, 2018 in DUI Arrest

Some holiday lights have a warm glow that makes you feel good inside, while other festive lights twinkle and wink in the jolly spirit of the season. But here in Arizona, holiday lights are often atop police cars on the prowl for DUI drivers.

According to a recent report by a Phoenix TV station, the Arizona Department of Public Safety is ready to roll out extra patrol cars and officers over the holiday season. DPS will join DUI task forces in a search for drunk drivers.

The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety said that law enforcement officers made 420 DUI arrests over the recent three-day Thanksgiving weekend, up from both last year’s figure and the 2016 Thanksgiving total.

According to KTAR, a AAA Arizona spokesperson said there were about 900,000 drivers on the state’s roads over the Thanksgiving weekend – a figure that should be passed during the period from Christmas through New Year’s Day.

Last year, AAA said more than 97 million Americans traveled by motor vehicle in that same holiday period.

The KTAR report also noted that public safety officials recently joined restaurant and liquor industry figures to publicize the coming statewide drunk driving enforcement campaign over the holidays.

An Arizona Department of Transportation spokesperson said the agency will work with DPS to find drivers who are impaired, speeding or not wearing seat belts.

Some good news from ADOT: it will limit road construction and closures to try to keep heavy holiday traffic moving.

If you are arrested for drunk driving, do not speak to a prosecutor before you have spoken with an attorney experienced in cost-effective, successful DUI defense.