Fewer Arizonans were arrested for DUI over Thanksgiving weekend than last year

PHOENIX — Thanksgiving may be over, but there’s one more thing for Arizonans to be grateful for: lowering DUI statistics this holiday weekend compared to last year’s.

There was a total of 263 DUI arrests this Thanksgiving weekend, compared to 306 in 2023 and 323 in 2022, according to a Tuesday report from the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

Numbers were down in all three subcategories of DUI arrests, from aggravated DUIs and misdemeanor DUIs to extreme DUIs. Authorities use the term extreme to refer to times when a driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) exceeds 0.15%.

Other lowering DUI statistics in Arizona over Thanksgiving 2024

There were also less than half of the distracted driving citations issued this year compared to last year’s Thanksgiving weekend, with 51 in 2024 compares to 110 in 2023.

DUI drug arrests were also down, with 54 this year and 71 the year before.

Deputies also kept a close eye on cars to make sure children were being restrained properly. In that arena, Arizona drivers also improved upon last year. In fact, there were 54 DUI drug arrests compared to 71 last Thanksgiving weekend.

Despite overall lowering DUI statistics, two aspects were worse in Arizona this Thanksgiving

While children were well taken care of, though, the same can’t be applied to other Arizonans.

One way in which the state slacked in highway safety was in general seat belt citations. Officers issued 162 seat belt citations, which was a leap from 143 the year before.

Furthermore, the average known BAC was also slightly up this year, with 0.159 in 2024 compared to 0.144 over last year’s Thanksgiving weekend.

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