Drunken driving arrests surged during an extended Super Bowl weekend crackdown in Colorado this year, as the Colorado State Patrol and 24 other agencies jailed 371 drivers.
No alcohol-related fatalities were recorded on state roads during the “Heat is On” crackdown from 6 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Sunday.
Last year, the road blocks and extra patrols began on Saturday night and resulted in 271 arrests on Colorado roads.
Nationally nearly half the traffic fatalities during Super Bowl weekends from 2006 through 2008 involved alcohol, according to the Colorado State Patrol.
“It’s disappointing that so many people disregarded the warnings and chose to put other lives in danger by driving impaired,” Col. James Wolfinbarger, chief of the State Patrol, said in a statement this afternoon.
He said drunken drivers, instead, face jail time and more than $10,000 in fines, fees, and increased insurance rates as a result of imbibing and driving.
“We thank the thousands of others who took the time to plan ahead and designate a sober driver or take public transportation to and from their Super Bowl gatherings,” he stated.
The Colorado State Patrol made 70 of the DUI arrests this year. Denver police made 51 and Aurora had 40. Colorado Springs police were next with 22.
By comparison, during the three-day New Year’s Eve weekend this year, the State Patrol and about 50 law enforcement agencies across the state made 444 DUI arrests.
