UHP to increase DUI enforcement Halloween weekend

This Halloween season, the Utah Highway Patrol is asking everyone to leave the dangerous driving for the witches on brooms and commit to sober driving Halloween night and every night.

To help make sure everyone makes it home safely, law enforcement officers throughout the state will be working over 230 extra shifts to deter, detect and remove impaired drivers from Utah’s roads, according to UHP.

UHP officials say ghouls and goblins will not be the only scary sights lurking, they will be holding a concentrated DUI blitz on Halloween.

Drunk drivers put themselves and others at risk and their actions according to UHP can be deadly to everyone.

Even one alcoholic beverage could be one too many for some driver so UHP advises that anyone who plans to drive should refrain from alcohol. They added that anyone planning to drink should arrange for a sober ride home.

UHP shared a few tips to help prepare for a safe night out

• Remember that it is never okay to drink and drive. Even if you’ve had only one alcoholic beverage, designate a sober driver or plan to use public transportation or a ride-sharing service to get home safely.
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 911.
• Have a friend who is about to drink and drive? Take the keys away and make arrangements to get your friend home safely.
• It doesn’t have to be a potion to be deadly. Buzzed driving is drunk driving. Designate a sober driver. Don’t be the real monster this Halloween.
• On average, a DUI can set you back $10,000 in attorney’s fees, fines, court costs, lost time at work, higher insurance rates, car towing and repairs, and more.
• The financial impact from impaired driving crashes can be devastating: based on 2010 numbers (the most recent year for which cost data is available), impaired-driving crashes cost the United States $44 billion annually.
• Drunk driving isn’t the only risk on the road: Drug-impaired driving is also an increasing problem on our nation’s roads, for men and for women.
• If drivers are impaired by any substance – alcohol or drugs – they should not get behind the wheel of a vehicle.
• It is illegal in all states to drive impaired by alcohol or drugs.

In a final warning form UHP, they said, “Remember: Driving while impaired is illegal, period. The bottom line is this: If You Feel Different, You Drive Different. It’s that simple.”

Story provided by our news partners at ABC 4 News.