Arizona law enforcement makes 509 DUI arrests during St. Patrick’s Day weekend
Mar 21, 2017, 4:46 AM | Updated: 11:19 am
PHOENIX — Arizona law enforcement officials made 509 arrests for driving under the influence this St. Patrick’s Day weekend, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
Alberto Gutier, director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, said in a press release Monday that there were 349 people around the state who were arrested for DUI, but only included 40 people who were arrested for aggravated DUI and 309 people who were arrested for a misdemeanor DUI.
Not included in the count for total DUI arrests were the 84 people who were arrested for an extreme DUI, the eight who were arrested for under 21 DUIs and the 68 who were arrested for driving under the influence of drugs.
In total, law enforcement officials around Arizona made 9,814 total traffic stops during St. Patrick’s Day weekend. The traffic stops included contacting 352 sober, designated drivers, 189 seat belt citations, 1,934 criminal and civil speeding violations and 44 under 21 liquor law violations.
The number of DUI arrests during this St. Patrick’s Day weekend is slightly lower than the number from 2016.
In 2016, 547 people were arrested for aggravated, misdemeanor, extreme, under 21 and drug DUIs. However, the 2016 numbers also included DUI arrests with priors, which there were no numbers available for 2017.
Arizona officials have worked for years to combat the number of DUI arrests, particularly during the holidays.
This St. Patrick’s Day, Maricopa County partnered with the ride-sharing service Lyft to offer new and existing users free or discounted rides to avoid drinking and driving. Triple-A of Arizona also offered its “Tipsy Tow” service this holiday, which offers to tow anyone’s vehicle for up to 10 miles for free, even if you’re not a customer.
