Bucks County Police Conducting DUI Patrols Over Holiday Weekend

Officers from six local police departments as well as the Pennsylvania State Police will be conducting increased DUI patrols this weekend on several main roads in Bucks County

From 10 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday, nine officers from Bensalem, Middletown, New Britain, Upper Southampton, Warrington and Warwick Townships, and the state police will focus on Street Road, Lincoln Highway and Bristol Pike in Bensalem. All drivers found to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be arrested, police said.

"Summer holiday weekends have proven to be especially hazardous in Pennsylvania in recent years, with too much revelry mixing with the traditional backyard barbecues and trips to parks, lakes and beaches," the Bucks County District Attorney's office said in a statement.

Independence Day and Memorial Day are tied as the second-deadliest holiday weekend in Pennsylvania in 2014, exceeded only by Labor Day. Seven Pennsylvanians died in 153 crashes over the July 4 weekend two years ago, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

Bucks County was one of six counties in Pennsylvania that had 12 or more alcohol-related traffic deaths for all of 2014.

The Bensalem patrol is the fifth in a year-long series of enforcement actions undertaken by a county-wide DUI task force. The task force has conducted roving DUI patrols on Thanksgiving Eve, New Year’s Eve and Memorial Day weekend, as well as a DUI checkpoint in Newtown Township on St. Patrick’s Day.