Record Number of Colorado DUI Arrests

New Year’s Holiday yields 569 arrests for drunk driving in Colorado.

During the New Year’s festivities, law enforcement agencies across the state made a total of 569 arrests for suspicion of driving under the influence in Colorado. That figure is the highest recorded since the inception of a state Department of Transportation DUI initiative in 1998.

The Colorado State Patrol joined with 52 county and local police departments in setting up DUI saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints. The campaign ran from 6 pm December 30 to 6:00 pm January 5. Last year the number of CO DUI arrests totaled 473, and in 2006 the figure was 449. The most arrests were made by CSP with a total of 141. Denver police netted 87 arrests and Colorado Springs police had 40.

The Colorado Department of Transportation provided $941,377 in grants last year to law enforcement agencies to fund additional DUI patrols. In addition, more than 3000 taxi vouchers were distributed by bars, hotels and restaurants over the New Year’s holiday to reduce drunk drivers on the street.

Some of the recent batch of DUI defendants will be subject to new Colorado DUI laws that went into effect January 1. In addition to stiffer penalties and fines of up to $10,000, the offenders could lose their driver’s licenses for up to nine months. There is a provision for the return of a license in thirty days if the defendant agrees to install an ignition interlock device that tests for the presence of alcohol before allowing the driver to start the vehicle.

Have you been charged with DUI in CO?