Arizona DPS, Phoenix police partner to stop wrong-way highway drivers
Nov 7, 2017, 4:01 AM | Updated: 11:40 am
PHOENIX — The Arizona Department of Public Safety is ramping up its efforts to stop wrong-way drivers on state highways with a new partnership.
The department will partner up with the Phoenix Police Department to monitor the issue this holiday season.
Grateful for our partnership with @phoenixpolice to protect Arizonans this holiday season. #TroopersandTrafficCops #DontDrinkAndDrive pic.twitter.com/0BZh3XYMKX
— Col. Frank Milstead (@frank_milstead) November 6, 2017
Phoenix Police Chief Jeri Williams said officers will be monitoring access streets along Interstates 10 and 17 and State Route 51 to track wrong-way drivers.
“We’re trying to make an impact on our community,” Williams said.
DPS head Col. Frank Milstead said stopping wrong-way drivers is a “social issue.”
“This is a drinking-and-driving, doing-drugs-and-driving issue,” he said.
“The average blood alcohol concentration of a wrong-way driver that we arrest – or who’s involved in a collision – is .18 percent. The presumptive level – where you’re presumed to be impaired – is .08 [percent].”
In June, the state Department of Public Safety found that nearly 740 wrong-way drivers had been reported on Arizona freeways this year.
A majority of the wrong-way crashes have been caused by intoxicated drivers.
In an effort to combat the issue, the Arizona Department of Transportation has begun installing a detection system to record wrong-way drivers on the I-17.
