The Colorado Department of Transportation is cracking down on impaired driving in the weeks leading up to Labor Day and through the holiday weekend. CDOT, in partnership with law enforcement agencies around the state, is launching the three-week DUI enforcement period from Aug. 16 through Sept. 3.
The enforcement period, part of CDOT’s Whole System Whole Safety initiative, is meant to reduce the number of traffic injuries and deaths on Colorado’s roadways. There were 209 passenger vehicle deaths in the state last year involving impaired drivers, more than one-third of all fatalities. Forty-four people were killed in crashes involving impaired drivers in August and September alone last year. More than 930 drivers were arrested during last year’s enforcement period.
This year, the campaign is teaming up with BACtrack, a personal breathalyzer company, to urge drivers to check their blood-alcohol content and make sure they’re sober before getting behind the wheel. Through the partnership, Colorado residents can get 50% off a BACtrack breathalyzer through September at CoDOT.Backtrack.com.
“This initiative makes an important resource available to Coloradans to help people make safe and educated decisions,” CDOT executive director Shoshana Lew said in a news release. “Choosing when to get behind the wheel can be a life or death decision, and education about impaired driving — along with enforcement — is a key part of keeping roads safe.”