WSP Deploys Mobile Police Station For Thanksgiving DUI Patrols

BELLEVUE, WA - They call it a "full service police station on wheels." It's Washington State Patrol's Mobile Impaired Driving Unit - a 36-foot RV loaded with gear (and even a few jail cells) to respond to drunk driving incidents.

Beginning Wednesday night, the MIDU will be out helping troopers find drunk drivers around the state. The MIDU will be on the road through Saturday. Here's WSP's description of the vehicle:

The MIDU is a self-contained 36 foot motorhome that has been retrofitted as a mobile DUI processing center and incident command post. The MIDU is equipped with three breath testing instruments, two temporary holding cells, three computer work stations, an incident command computer terminal, a dispatcher console with wireless access to WSP dispatch centers and a microwave downlink tower for real time broadcasts from WSP aircraft.

Thanksgiving eve has become known as a night to binge drink. It's even earned the nickname "Blackout Wednesday." Upserve, a restaurant management platform, looked at data about alcohol sales on Thanksgiving eve 2016. Beer sales spiked 240 percent, and a 114 percent jump in liquor sales, Upserve found.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving found that 800 people died in drunk driving crashes over the Thanksgiving weekend between 2012 and 2016. That makes it the deadliest holiday for drunk driving crashes overall, according to MADD.

In addition to the MIDU, WSP will have extra troopers out patrolling for impaired drivers.

If you're interested, you can tour the MIDU on Friday at 10 a.m. at the WSP headquarters in Bellevue at 2803 156th Ave Southeast.

Image via WSP