Tri-Cities Troopers Complete Successful DUI Crackdown

Tri-Cities troopers removed a total of 85 impaired drivers from the roadways during the holiday emphasis patrols which ran through the month of December. Troopers were deployed to the high traffic areas of Benton and Franklin counties throughout the month in an effort to detect and arrest impaired drivers and to reduce the number of collisions. Additional troopers were assigned to work each Friday and Saturday evenings to focus on impaired driving, dangerous speeding, occupant restraint violations, and aggressive driving.

Tri-Cities troopers saw a marked increase in the number of impaired driving arrests in December 2006. This was the highest number of DUI arrests during the month of December in many years. During the previous months of December, Tri-Cities troopers made the following number of DUI arrests:

2005- 55
2004- 68
2003- 73

There were no fatality or serious injury collisions on the State Routes or Interstates within Benton and Franklin counties during the month of December, 2006.

“I am extremely proud of the Tri-Cities troopers. They worked very hard to detect and arrest impaired drivers and prevent serious injury and fatality collisions during the busy holiday month of December. This is truly an outstanding success,” said Lieutenant Jay Cabezuela of the Washington State Patrol.