Dover – Delaware law enforcement officer arrested participating in a nationwide crackdown on impaired drivers arrested 38 individuals for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of alcohol and/or drugs over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Twenty (20) of the arrests came as a result of sobriety checkpoints conducted September 3rd and 4th, while the remaining 18 DUI arrests resulted from DUI saturation patrols statewide. Agencies conducting checkpoints included the Delaware State Police Troop 4 and the New Castle County DUI Task Force.
This was the third and final week of enforcement under the national DUI Crackdown Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest. Delaware’s participation was coordinated locally by the Delaware Office of Highway Safety and involved 13 sobriety checkpoints and hundreds of DUI saturation patrols. Enforcement began on August 22nd and continued through September 7th.
Over the three week period, thirty-one State, County and municipal police agencies participated in the effort and made a total of 96 DUI arrests. In addition officers issued a total of 20 citations for underage drinking violations, apprehended 36 wanted individuals, made 31drug arrests, 12 felony arrests, recovered three stolen vehicles, seized 2 weapons, issued 80 seat belt citations, and just over one thousand citations for various other traffic violations.
Although the national crackdown is over, weekly sobriety checkpoints will continue through New Year’s Eve under the umbrella of OHS’s Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign.
Over the Labor Day weekend several bars in the town of Dewey Beach partnered with the Office of Highway Safety to promote the HERO Campaign for Designated Drivers. Gary’s Dewey Beach Grill, the Starboard, the Lighthouse, the Bottle & Cork, Northbeach, the Rusty Rudder and Jimmy’s Grille displayed HERO materials provided by OHS including banners, posters, coasters, table tents and window clings. Some establishments provided free soft drinks for individuals identified as the designated driver
