DUI Task Force To Strike Hard
PHOENIX - In 2005, nearly 13,000 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. In Arizona, 492 of the stateÂ’s 1,179 traffic-related fatalities that year involved alcohol; 434 of them had a BAC of .08 or higher. The offense is bad and the punishment for DUI is harsh (in most cases.) The Arizona GovernorÂ’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) and the Arizona DUI Task Forces have announced they will be joining with thousands of other law enforcement and highway safety agencies from August 17 throughout the Labor Day holiday to take part in the "Drunk Driving - Over the Limit - Under Arrest" crackdown on impaired driving.
In a strongly worded statement, said GOHS Director Richard Fimbres said “Make no mistake. Our message is simple. No matter what you drive-a passenger car, pickup, sport utility vehicle or motorcycle-if we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions. No excuses,”
During the 2006 Labor Day DUI Crackdown, 734 impaired drivers were cited for impaired driving in Arizona. Officers on special enforcement details will be out removing these dangerous drivers this year through sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols.
Effective September 19, Arizona will add another penalty aimed at reducing repeat offenders: Mandatory ignition interlock devices (IID) for all offenders. Currently IIDs are only required for aggravated and extreme DUIs. This action is the result of Senate Bill 1029 that Governor Janet Napolitano signed into law earlier this year.
Arizona is just the second state (along with New Mexico) to make it mandatory for all offenders to have an "IID."
The national "Drunk Driving - Over the Limit - Under Arrest" impaired driving crackdown is a prevention program organized by the U.S. Department of TransportationÂ’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that focuses on combining high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness through advertising and publicity.