I Got a DUI for Christmas

Long lines at the mall and Grandma’s fruitcake are no longer the only things to worry about during the holiday season. With the Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign in place, holiday drivers ran an increased chance of being stopped and arrested for a DUI in the State of Washington.

The winter Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign began on November 25, 2010 (Thanksgiving Day), and ran through January 2, 2011. During this time, state and local law enforcement conducted extra DUI patrols throughout King County in attempts to keep impaired drivers off the roads during the holiday season.

This campaign was a joint effort, funded by both the King County Target Zero Task Forces and a grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Within King County, the following Police Departments participated in extra DUI patrols over the holidays: Algona, Auburn, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Covington, Clyde Hill, Des Moines, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Normandy Park, North Bend, Pacific, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, Seatac, Seattle, Snoqualmie, and Tukwila. In addition to the local Police Departments, the Washington State Patrol also participated in extra DUI emphasis patrols.

The winter campaign resulted in a total of 3,577 statewide DUI arrest. In King County alone, 876 drivers were stopped and arrested for a DUI within this roughly 38 day period.

This wasn’t the first time the Washington Safety Traffic Commission organized a DUI enforcement campaign. This past summer, from August 12 through September 6, 2010, the Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign was implemented as the largest ever summer DUI enforcement campaign. Over 178 police agencies participated in the campaign statewide.

Given the number of arrests made during the winter campaign and the existence of a previous summer Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign, it would not be surprising to find that state and local law enforcement may decide implement the campaign again during the summer months. Remember, these campaigns mean that even the casual, non-impaired drivers could be caught up in a DUI task force event when there is more pressure than usual to make DUI related arrests.