An average of about 4,000 drivers in Arizona have been arrested for
drunken driving in the holidays for the past several years, and a host
of politicians and police leaders came together on Tuesday with a simple
message as the season approaches: Get a designated driver.
The
theme has been a constant message for several years from the Governor's
Office of Highway Safety, the state agency that provides funding for
task forces that operate throughout Arizona, and officials believe the
message is paying off.
The number of sober designated drivers that
police contact increased by 28 percent in a recent three-year period
even as the total number of drivers contacted dropped by about 10
percent, according to data from the Office of Highway Safety.
Gov.-elect
Doug Ducey echoed the sentiment when he took to a podium on the Capitol
Lawn surrounded by law enforcement officials from around the state. The
men and women who enforce the law are the reason Arizona is one of the
toughest states in the nation on eliminating drunk driving, he said.
"I
want people to enjoy themselves this holiday season, but be
responsible," Ducey said. "Make the right choice to not drink and
drive."
Police arrested nearly 600 drivers on DUI charges during
the Thanksgiving holiday in 2012, among more than 4,000 suspected
drunken drivers picked up during the entire holiday season.
Arizona
Department of Public Safety Director Robert Halliday said the number
increased to nearly 4,400 drivers in the 2013 holiday season, which
stretches from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, partially due to an
increase in officers participating in the DUI task forces.
