Statewide DUI Task Forces

The State of Arizona has 16 DUI Task Forces deployed throughout the state. The efforts of the officers who volunteer for these task force deployments make the Arizona roads a safer place to travel. Many of the task force deployments coincide with major holidays. These holidays unfortunately add a greater number of impaired drivers to the road. The combination of municipal police agencies, county sheriff's departments, park, tribal, university police departments, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety make the task force deployments a formidable force in the fight against impaired drivers.  A few of the task forces and highlights from 2003-2004 are listed below.

East Valley DUI Task Force

The Arizona Department of Public Safety, Mesa Police Department, Chandler Police Department, Tempe Police Department, Phoenix Police Department, Scottsdale Police Department, Gilbert Police Department, Paradise Valley Police Department, and deputies from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office join forces to remove impaired drivers from our streets. During a 17 day period in December of 2004, the East Valley DUI Task Force made 1694 DUI arrests. 

Southern Arizona DUI Task Force

The collaboration of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Tucson Police Department, and University of Arizona Police Department.  Officers with the Southern Arizona DUI Task Force arrested 96 suspected drunken drivers over the 2004 Fourth of July holiday weekend.

Southeastern Arizona DUI Task Force

The Southeastern Arizona DUI Task Force comprises the  Arizona Department of Public Safety, Safford Police Department; Thatcher Police Department, Eastern Arizona College Police Department, Douglas Police Department, and Sierra Vista Police Department.  During the holiday seasons, the task force assembles to combat impaired drivers. The task force deployed 14 times in 2003, resulting in 132 DUI arrests. 

Fatalities Related to Impaired Driving During the Christmas and New Year’s Day Holiday Periods 

Introduction

In the past, about 45 percent of all fatalities during the Christmas and New Year holiday periods, on an average, have occurred in crashes where at least one of the involved drivers was impaired as compared to about 30 percent of all fatalities during the rest of December. This year, NHTSA’s projections show that an estimated total of 410 persons will be fatally injured in motor vehicle traffic crashes during each of the three-day Christmas Holiday and New Year Holiday Periods. If the trend continues, about 185 persons will be killed in crashes involving an impaired driver during each of the two holiday periods.

The table below presents data that highlights the higher rate of involvement of impaired drivers in fatal crashes during the two holiday periods in December and compares the trend with the rate of involvement during the rest of the days in December. The number of such fatalities per day (fatalities averaged over the number of days in the holiday) during the two holiday periods is higher as compared to fatalities per day during the rest of December.