Hundreds of Impaired Drivers Sacked Over Super Bowl Weekend in Colorado
Super Bowl weekend sacked nearly 300 impaired drivers in Colorado.
The Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol, and local agencies collaborated for the heightened enforcement period lasting Friday, February 5, to Monday, February 8, resulting in 276 impaired driving arrests.
This DUI enforcement period was part of CDOT's The Heat Is On campaign, which runs throughout the year with 12 specific high visibility impaired driving enforcement periods centered on national holidays and large public events.
"There is no doubt that Colorado reveres the Broncos and is incredibly proud of the Super Bowl championship," said Director of CDOT's Office of Transportation Safety, Darrell Lingk. "Unfortunately, 276 people made a terrible choice to drive impaired and will associate a DUI arrest with this memorable time."
The 276 arrests this year is an increase over last - in 2015, just 234 arrests were made over Super Bowl weekend. Aurora and Colorado Springs police departments as well as Colorado State Patrol made the highest number of arrests this year.
"We certainly understand that our fellow Broncos fans celebrated the Super Bowl victory responsibly with a few drinks, but there is no excuse for driving impaired," said Col. Scott Hernandez, Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. "Alternative transportation is easily accessible in Colorado and everyone who chooses to drink should always plan ahead. We want everyone to be around to celebrate during the next Broncos season!"
The next DUI enforcement period for The Heat Is On revolves around St. Patrick's Day and will run from Friday, March 11, through Friday, March 18. CDOT plans to launch community educational efforts to deter the public from impaired driving in addition to the enforcement period.