Holidays invariably bring out drunk drivers, and though Halloween does not make the top three holidays for DUIs, it is high up on the list. Given the fact that this year’s Halloween fell not only on a Saturday, but on a Daylight Savings Time shift giving an extra hour for costumed festivities, police were on high alert for drunk driving.
According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, 250 Colorado drivers were ticketed for driving under the influence over the course of the weekend. This number is down from last year’s 329. The majority of the arrests occurred in Denver, Aurora and Colorado Springs.
Holidays with the Highest Rates of Drunk Driving
If you are trying to determine which holiday attracts drunk drivers the most, you have to make a distinction between drunk driving arrests and drunk driving accidents. For example, according to data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the holiday with the most DUI crashes is the Fourth of July, with Thanksgiving close behind; however, for arrests, the crown goes to New Year’s Eve.
Drunk driving also tends to spike around long weekends. Labor Day weekend often leads to an increase in arrests. Many of these arrests are the result of DUI checkpoints, which may or may not be announced ahead of time.
With Thanksgiving just over the horizon from here, it is important for everyone who plans to travel to do their part to ensure public safety by making the choice to drive sober, or not drive at all.
