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January 15, 2009 - Drunk Drivers 'Scrooged' During Holiday Crackdown

Contact:  Anne Readett, OHSP, (517) 333-5317


A 16-year-old runaway drunk driver and a resistant second-time impaired driving offender were just two of the lawbreakers officers encountered during the holiday Over the Limit. Under Arrest. drunk driving crackdown conducted Dec. 19 - Jan. 4.

Law enforcement officers arrested 365 impaired drivers during a 17-day enforcement period, averaging 22 arrests per day.

In addition to the drunk driving arrests, nearly 200 other misdemeanor and felony arrests were made and officers issued 163 seat belt, 707 speeding and 238 uninsured motorist citations.

"Officers never know what they will encounter on patrol and although the overtime funding is provided for drunk driving enforcement, it is an opportunity to identify other traffic and safety violations," said Kathy Farnum, senior section chief for the Office of Highway Safety Planning.

During the crackdown, 200 agencies worked over 7,500 enforcement hours resulting in 7,313 traffic stops and 4,558 citations or arrests.

Preliminary data reports 24 people were killed in traffic crashes during the 2008 Christmas and New Year's holidays, three of those fatalities are confirmed to be alcohol and/or drug-related. During the same period in 2007, 20 people were killed in traffic crashes, nine of those fatalities were the result of impaired driving crashes.

OHSP coordinated the statewide effort throughout the holiday season funded by $500,000 in federal highway safety grants. OHSP administers funding for drunk driving and safety belt enforcement throughout the year to agencies in 55 counties that cover 95 percent of Michigan's population.

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