January 19, 2005

Law enforcement officers in Michigan arrested 1,323 motorists for drunk driving and 825 for other alcohol-related offenses during the winter holiday You Drink & Drive. You Lose. crackdown—nearly 300 more arrests than during the same period in 2004.

More than 500 police departments, sheriff’s offices and Michigan State Police posts across the state focused on drunk driving from Dec. 19 to Jan. 1 as part of the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning’s (OHSP) campaign. OHSP also administered federal traffic safety grant funds to agencies in 28 counties to boost patrols during the drunk driving crackdown.

"Law enforcement officers did a great job finding and arresting those who chose to drive drunk, despite repeated warnings of the consequences," said Michael L. Prince, OHSP division director. "Michigan motorists were safer for every drunk driver that was taken off the road."

During the You Drink & Drive. You Lose. crackdown in December 2004, officers arrested more than 1,800 motorists for drunk driving and other alcohol-related offenses, such as impaired driving or minor in possession.

Twenty-one more agencies reported statistics to OHSP this year than last. Arrests and citations in all other categories also increased during the recent crackdown.

According to the 342 agencies reporting statistics, 41,837 vehicles were stopped. In addition to the alcohol arrests, there were 859 felony and 3,879 misdemeanor arrests. Officers also wrote 10,400 speeding citations and issued 1,295 safety belt citations and 171 child restraint citations.

For more specific results, including a breakdown by county, click here.