For Labor Day weekend, Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and local law enforcement will conduct a statewide “Heat Is On” DUI enforcement period. Sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols through Sept. 5 will be aimed at keeping impaired drivers off Colorado roads.
The crackdown started Aug. 18 and includes 105 law enforcement agencies.
Law enforcement cited 974 impaired drivers during last year’s Labor Day weekend DUI blitz, an average of 54 arrests per day.
“A DUI offense is 100 percent avoidable,” Darrell Lingk, CDOT Office of Transportation Safety director, said in a news release. “As you’re gearing up for your holiday weekend celebrations, plan ahead for safe, reliable, sober transportation. There’s no reason to put yourself or others at risk by driving impaired.”
First-time DUI offenders can be punished with up to one year in jail, license suspension and steep fines. Penalties increase for repeat offenders.
For more information and tips for staying safe on the road, visit www.heatisoncolorado.com.
