If you're thinking about getting behind the wheel after a few drinks over the holidays, the Tempe Police Department wants you to think again.
Tempe police, along with 53 reporting agencies statewide, are working together on the Holiday DUI Task Force. The task force operates during the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons and continues through New Year's Day, according to the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.
The task force operates on the weekends and the actual holidays.
"The goal is to have a strong enforcement presence out there to remove impaired drivers from the roadways," said Michael Hegarty, deputy director for the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. "We're not discouraging people. We want them to go out and enjoy themselves and have a good time over the holidays, but just be responsible about it."
Police arrested more than 42 people for DUI in Tempe and 190 statewide over the Thanksgiving weekend, Hegarty said. Of those 190 arrests, 27 were underage, he added.
The average blood alcohol content level Friday night was 0.112 and 0.165 Saturday night in Tempe, Hegarty said.
Sgt. Mike Horn of Tempe police said the city has a DUI enforcement squad with impaired drivers as their only focus. The department also has other officers patrolling DUI enforcement and extra positions for officers to find impaired drivers.
"We're always worried about impaired driving and always out looking for impaired drivers," Horn said. "Clearly this time of year, with the number of social events and parties with the holidays, we have an even greater presence on the streets specifically looking for impaired drivers in order to keep everybody safe."
In 2006, there were a total of 2,662 DUI arrests and 724 extreme DUI arrests (BAC of 0.15 or higher), on Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, according to statistics from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety. The average BAC level was 0.146.
Hegarty said he expects there to be an increase in arrests this year from last year due to an increase in funding and officers involved.
"Unfortunately, we're not at the point where officers will outnumber impaired drivers," Hegarty said. "A lot of our DUI numbers are based on how many officers we can put on the street."
There are 229 officers and deputies participating in the task force, he added.
Last year, 585 people were killed in Arizona because of alcohol related crashes, Hegarty said. More than 400 of those fatalities involved drivers with a BAC above 0.08, Hegarty said.
The new Arizona DUI laws state that penalties for impaired driving include mandatory jail time, thousands of dollars in fines and court fees, driver license suspension, vehicle impoundment and mandatory ignition interlock devices for all offenders.
The defendant can lower the cost of a first time offense by completing a court ordered class. The class would also be in lieu of jail time.
The cost of the class would be $2,774, while an Extreme DUI would cost $4,865 and the new Super Extreme BAC of 0.20 and higher would cost $8,336, according to statistics from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.
"In comparison, we estimate the average family spends $1,400 on holiday gifts," Hegarty said. "If you go out drinking and driving, the money that you could have spent on holiday gifts for family and friends for two years is now going to be spent on your DUI, and that's minimum DUI, not extreme or super extreme."
Hegarty said the Task Force rotates the areas of concentration based on events and where the most potential for drunk drivers will be and where they can make the biggest impact. He said they will be out in Tempe Friday and Saturday for the Sun Devil football game against UA.
"We want people to be responsible and if alcohol is going to be involved in their celebrations to make sure they have a safe and sober ride home," Hegarty said. "Have a sober designated driver and not just the person who's least drunk. Or call a cab, parents, a friend, some other way to get home if you've been drinking besides getting behind the wheel."
Reach the reporter at: heather.m.turner@asu.edu.
