Colorado law enforcement agencies arrested 607 impaired drivers during the recent St. Patrick’s Day crackdown, up 33 percent over arrests in 2016, the Colorado Department of Transportation said Thursday in a news release.
The Heat Is On crack down was March 10-20, and involved CDOT, the Colorado State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies around the state.
“Law enforcement is committed to keeping Colorado roads safe, and this means removing impaired drivers from behind the wheel,” said Col. Scott Hernandez, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “It’s unfortunate that 607 people chose to drive impaired, but lives were potentially saved by taking them off the road.”
In 2016, 455 arrests were made.
The highest arrest totals came from Colorado Springs Police Department with 52 arrests, Denver Police Department with 43 arrests and Aurora Police Department with 42 arrests. Colorado State Patrol made 139 arrests.
A reminder: the blood-alcohol-content limit in Colorado for driving while ability impaired is 0.05 percent. For driving under the influence, the limit is 0.08 percent. First-time DUI offenders can be punished with up to a year in jail, license suspension and steep fines. Penalties increase for repeat offenders.
The Heat Is On campaign will return April 7 for the spring events enforcement period. Last year, 1,555 impaired drivers were arrested during the five-week spring crackdown.
For more information, visit www.heatisoncolorado.com.
