The luck o’ the Irish was not with 17 people arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol and/or drugs Saturday night at the New Castle County DUI Task Force checkpoint in Wilmington.
The Task Force was joined by 15 state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies in conducting DUI enforcement activities centered around the St. Patrick’s Day holiday.
These activities are coordinated by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety to deter and arrest impaired drivers.
Additional DUI patrols are scheduled for St. Patrick’s Day itself which is this Wednesday, March 17, as well as for the weekend of March 19 – 20.
National statistics show that in 2008, 50 people died in traffic crashes involving an impaired driver on St. Patrick’s Day.
In addition to the 17 DUI arrests, officers also made four drug arrests, five felony arrests, apprehended four wanted individuals, recovered one stolen vehicle, cited one person for an underage drinking violation, cited eight for seat belt violations and cited 45 for additional traffic violations.
Last year, police arrested 52 individuals for DUI during St. Patrick’s Day enforcement activities.
In 2009, 35 percent (41 of 117) of all vehicle deaths in Delaware were alcohol related. Since Jan. 1, 2010, three of the 18 motor vehicle fatalities have been alcohol-related.
For more information on OHS’s year round DUI efforts please visit www.ohs.delaware.gov.
