Arizona Memorial Day DUI arrests up over last year

Posted on June 4, 2019 in Drunk Driving

A few days ago, all of Arizona paused to remember the brave men and women in the U.S. military who gave their lives to defend the nation. While Memorial Day is a solemn remembrance, it is also an occasion for family and friends to gather and celebrate.

However, it is also a time when Phoenix-area law enforcement agencies ramp up their drunk driving enforcement efforts. According to data from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the number of people arrested for DUI in Arizona over the holiday weekend was up slightly over lastyear’s total.

Over the Memorial Day weekend, which stretched from Friday to Monday, there were 503 people arrested on suspicion of DUI across the state.

Of those arrests, 109 were for extreme DUI, another 70 were for aggravated DUI and the rest were for misdemeanor drunk driving.

As our regular readers know, extreme DUI involves a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .15 percent or higher. The legal limit in Arizona is a BAC of .08 percent.

According to a news report, the average blood alcohol content of those arrested this past Memorial Day weekend was .144 percent.

The report states that last year, 483 drivers were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving over the holiday weekend. Both this year’s total and last year’s total fell short of 2017, when 552 DUI arrests were made.

This year’s report also noted that 149 drivers were arrested this year on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.

If you face drunk driving or drugged driving charges in the Phoenix metro area, contact an attorney experienced in effective DUI defense.