Hundreds Arrested For Drunk Driving Over Holidays
A drunk driving crackdown across the state over the Christmas and New Years holidays ends with 356 arrests.
The Office of Highway Safety Planning says along with the drunk drivers, officers in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and 32 other counties made nearly 600 arrests on misdemeanor and felony charges. More than 860 speeding tickets were written and 92 fugitives were arrested during the enforcement effort which ran for the last two weeks of the year.
Last year 300 drunk drivers were arrested.
"Although the overtime funding is provided for drunk driving enforcement, the added enforcement provides the opportunity to identify other traffic safety violations," said Kathy Farnum, OHSP's senior section chief, in a statement. "It appears most motorists made the right choice not to drink and drive over the holidays, except for the 356 drivers that found themselves in the back of a patrol car."
Michigan State Police say eight people died in traffic crashes over the holidays. Half of those deaths involving alcohol.
