Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel periods of the year, and that often means more impaired drivers hitting the roads, as well.
In 2018, four out of five road fatalities around the holiday involved an alcohol-impaired driver. The Colorado Department of Transportation, along with law enforcement partners from around the state, will be working to combat the issue and keep drunken drivers off the roads.
The Thanksgiving DUI enforcement period begins Friday, Nov. 22, and will run through Monday, Dec. 2 as part of CDOT’s ongoing The Heat is On campaign, meant to reduce the number of injuries and fatalities caused by impaired drivers.
“Impaired drivers put all roadway users at risk and jeopardize CDOT’s core mission to reduce the rate and severity of crashes on Colorado roads,” CDOT Executive Director Shoshana Lew. “Law enforcement agencies will closely monitor roads across the state during these enforcement campaigns to ensure everyone gets home safely.”
In addition to the Thanksgiving enforcement period, Colorado and Wyoming law enforcement agencies will be combining efforts to increase enforcement Friday, Nov. 22, in Larimer County because of the football game between the University of Wyoming and Colorado State University. The increased patrol areas include Interstate 25 between Cheyenne and Fort Collins, and U.S. Highway 287 between Fort Collins and Laramie.
The Thanksgiving enforcement period and DUI prevention campaign support CDOT’s Whole System Whole Safety initiative to reduce traffic injuries and deaths. Last year, there were 209 passenger vehicle fatalities in Colorado involving impaired drivers, more than one-third of all traffic fatalities in the state.
“The (Colorado State Patrol) and local law enforcement officers will be sacrificing time with their families to apprehend impaired drivers during the CSU vs. WY Border War and throughout the Thanksgiving holiday weekend,” State Patrol Chief Matthew Packard said in the release. “We urge people to travel safely and designate a sober driver. The four alcohol-driving related deaths on Colorado roads last Thanksgiving is four too many.”
