Confusion Over Colorado DUI Crackdown

Road signs warned of drunk driving patrols when there were none.

Colorado State law enforcement agencies declared a crackdown of drunk driving over the Halloween weekend. Highway message boards flashed warnings of the anti-DUI campaign. It seems that some law enforcement agencies however, most notably the Colorado Springs Police Department and the Colorado State Patrol, could not provide information on the operation or the sign board messages.

Some agencies, like the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department, engaged in extra patrols for motorists suspected of drunk driving in Colorado on Friday, but did not continue the effort through the weekend. The announced crackdown was supposed to end at 3:00 am Monday morning and include the Colorado Springs area police departments of Colorado Springs, Canon City, Fort Carson, Woodland Park and Fountain and the sheriff’s departments from Pueblo, El Paso and Fremont counties. The sign boards were deactivated Sunday afternoon.

A spokesperson with the Colorado Department of Transportation said it is possible for just special Colorado DUI patrol units to know of a crackdown and not the entire police department. He called the signs a deterrent, saying that signs will be on when there are extra patrols somewhere. Even if not a planned, coordinated effort, there could be regular police patrols in the area.

If you have been arrested for drunk driving in El Paso County you need to contact a DUI lawyer in Colorado Springs for help on your DUI charge.