You Better Watch Out ... Troop H Holiday DUI Patrols In Full Swing

HARTFORD COUNTY, CT — Those driving along Interstates 84 and 91, along with state Route 2 in Hartford County should take note that the annual holiday crackdown on drunken driving has begun out of the state police Troop H barracks.

Friday marked the beginning of the annual holiday state law enforcement drunken driving initiative, Connecticut Department of Transportation officials said. Motorists should expect t see an increased law enforcement presence on state roads until Jan. 1, DOT officials said.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the last year of "verifiable data," 13,384 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes involving an alcohol-impaired driver. That's 31 percent of all traffic fatalities in the United States for the year and more than a 14 percent increase from 2020. In December 2021 alone, 1,013 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, federal statistics show.

In Connecticut in 2021, also the last year of verifiable data, 112 people were killed in alcohol-impaired crashes, which accounted for nearly 40percent of all fatalities in the state, according t federal statistics.

"Through the winter holiday season, Connecticut law enforcement will participate in the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over impaired driving enforcement campaign. This enforcement period will feature state and national messages about the dangers of impaired driving, coupled with increased patrols aimed at drastically reducing drunk and drugged driving on our roadways," Connecticut DOT Commissioner Garrett Eucalitto said. "Drunk or drugged driving is never acceptable. Across the country, a person is killed every 39 minutes in a drunk-driving crash. We need a commitment from every driver to drive sober so that everyone can have a safe holiday."

In Connecticut, driving with a Blood Alcohol Content of .08 or higher is considered impaired. State officials said the costs of being caught drinking and driving are high. An impaired driver could face jail time, lose his or her driver's license and vehicle, and pay up to $10,000 in attorney's fees, fines, higher insurance rates, and lost wages.