CDOT Press Release

Law enforcement agencies across the state have entered the final stretch of “100 Days of Heat” by joining the national DUI crackdown, “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest,” which begins Friday, Aug. 21 and continues through Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 8th.

The Colorado State Patrol and more than 60 agencies across Colorado are mobilizing for an extensive statewide effort that includes sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and increased patrols throughout the 18-day period.

“We made a commitment starting with Memorial Day Weekend to make this the most heavily enforced summer in Colorado history to keep impaired drivers off our roadways,” said Col. James Wolfinbarger, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “We are using every opportunity available to encourage drivers to make smart choices to plan ahead for a sober ride if they will be celebrating with alcohol. We applaud drivers who listen, but for those drivers who choose to commit a crime by driving impaired, they can expect to go to jail.”

Since the “100 days of Heat” campaign kicked off on Memorial Day Weekend, statewide law enforcement agencies have made more than 1,555 DUI arrests during special enforcement periods, including 384 arrests made at sobriety checkpoints. Preliminary reports indicate that at least 29 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes between May 22 and Aug. 16, 2009. That is a 50 percent decline from the same period last year when 58 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes.

“We think the increased DUI enforcement, combined with good driver choices, are responsible for this summer’s drop in alcohol-related fatalities. But while there’s been progress, it’s important to remember there have still been 29 needless, senseless deaths this summer, so we will continue to hammer the point that drunk driving is a crime that will not be tolerated,” said Wolfinbarger.

In addition to jail time, drivers arrested for DUI face stiff fines, court costs and other fees that could cost more than $10,270. Even first-time offenders can lose their driver’s license and have an ignition interlock device on their vehicle for up to two years.

Law enforcement agencies have filed the following enforcement plans for the crackdown:

Increased Patrols:
Alamosa PD
Aurora PD
Boulder County SO
Boulder PD
Brighton PD
Brush PD
Cherry Hills PD
Cortez PD
Crested Butte MO
CSP Troop 1A Limon
CSP Troop 2A Canon City
CSP Troop 2B Colo Spgs.
CSP Troop 3B Sterling
CSP Troop 5A Durango
CSP Troop 5B Alamosa
CSP Troop 5C Montrose
CSP Troop 6C Broomfield
CSP Troop 6D Gaming
Durango PD
Edgewater PD
Erie PD
Fremont County SO
Gilpin County SO
Glenwood Springs PD
Gunnison PD
Kiowa PD
Lafayette PD
Lamar PD
Larimer County SO
Leadville PD
Logan County SO
Loveland PD
Manitou Springs PD
Mesa County SO
Milliken PD
Montezuma County SO
Monument PD
Northglenn PD
Palmer Lake PD
Pitkin County SO
Platteville PD
Pueblo County SO
Saguache County SO
Steamboat Springs PD
Summit County SO
Teller County SO
Weld County SO
Washington Co. SO
Saturation Patrols:
Adams County SO
Arapahoe County SO
Arvada PD
Auraria Campus PD
Boulder County SO
Boulder County PD
Chaffee County SO
Colorado Springs PD
Commerce City PD
CSP Troop 1C Castle Rock
CSP Troop 1D Adams
CSP Troop 2-C Lamar
CSP Troop 2-D Pueblo
CSP Troop 3-A Greeley
CSP Troop 3-C Fort Collins
CSP Troop 4-B Craig
CSP Troop 4-C Glenwood
CSP Troop 6-A Golden
CSP Troop 6B Frisco
Denver PD
Douglas County SO
El Paso County SO
Elbert County SO
Estes Park PD
Fountain PD
Grand Junction PD
Greenwood Village PD
Las Animas County SO
Littleton PD
Parker PD
Sanford PD
Woodland Park PD

Sobriety Checkpoints:

Friday, Aug. 21

* Jefferson County SO and Westminster PD
* Larimer County DUI Task Force

Saturday, Aug, 22

* Boulder PD
* Lakewood PD & Jefferson County SO

Wednesday, Aug. 26

* Weld County DUI Task Force

Friday, Aug 28

* Denver PD
* Larimer County DUI Task Force

Saturday, Aug 29

* Jefferson County SO, Arvada PD, Golden PD

Wednesday, Sept. 2

* Weld County DUI Task Force

Friday, Sept. 4

* Adams County SO, CSP Troop 1D Adams County
* Brighton PD
* CSP Troop 4A Fruita, Grand Junction PD, Mesa County SO
* Chaffee County SO
* Colorado Springs PD and CSP Troop 2-B
* Westminster PD and Broomfield PD

Saturday, Sept 5

* Aurora PD
* Weld County DUI Task Force
* Jefferson County SO, CSP Troop 6A, Golden PD, Arvada PD, Lakewood PD, Wheat Ridge PD

Sunday, Sept. 6

* Larimer County DUI Task Force

During last year’s 18-day national crackdown, Colorado law enforcement agencies made 1,426 DUI arrests.