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Drinking
and Driving is a Costly Mistake
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Click to download DUI poster PDF
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by Sheriff Ted Mink
On Saturday, October 1, six
police agencies converged on Jefferson County for a night of heavy DUI
enforcement. Officers arrested 17 drunk drivers in 6 hours. It was one of
several strategies we used in 2011 to remove drunk driving from on our
roadways.*
So far this year, an
average of two drivers per day were arrested in unincorporated Jeffco for
driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In the first nine months
of 2011, Jeffco deputies arrested 320 drivers for DUI. Colorado State
Patrol troopers nabbed an additional 300 offenders in the county.
Checkpoints
In
addition to occasional "saturation" patrols (when we add deputies
to the roads for the sole purpose of stopping drunk drivers), our agency
hosts five DUI checkpoints each year. DUI checkpoints are not only meant to
catch drunk drivers, but also to educate motorists about drunk driving and,
ideally, deter would-be drunk drivers from taking the wheel. Most
checkpoints result in a handful of DUI arrests.
A checkpoint on South
Wadsworth Boulevard on Labor Day weekend resulted in no DUI arrests.
However, a local cab driver stopped by to thank deputies for his most
lucrative night of the year. Apparently, word of the checkpoint had spread
to the local restaurants and bars, and he had more calls for service that
night than any other. For us, deterring drunk drivers is much better than
catching them. We hope the nagging threat of being caught will deter
would-be drunk drivers on checkpoint nights, and every night.
Drinking &
Driving is a Costly Mistake
Getting a ticket for DUI can be a life-changing event. In addition to
the possibility of going to jail, you could be responsible for more than
$10,000 in fines, surcharges, court costs, attorney's fees and auto
insurance increases when it's all said and done. Those costs are estimates
from the Colorado State Patrol based on a simple DUI arrest - not a DUI
crash. Our latest DUI poster showing
the breakdown of a DUI's cost is available for download at our website: www.jeffcosheriff.com.
To Report a Drunk
Driver
We urge you to call 911 to report a suspected drunk driver. If you
decide to stay on the line and follow the vehicle, stay a safe distance
away. Don't put yourself in harm's way or violate any laws to trail the
driver. Try to provide a license plate number and description of the
vehicle.
*Most of our DUI
checkpoint and saturation enforcement is made possible by grants from CDOT
and the NHTSA.
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