444 People Started Off the New Year with a DUI

Colorado State Patrol PIO – 303-239-4583 Heather Halpape, CDOT
303-757-9484 or 303-888-6319 (cell)


444 People Started Off the New Year with a DUI


Downloads of “R-U-Buzzed” iPhone App top 100,000

DENVER – The Colorado State Patrol and more than 50 law enforcement agencies across the state reported making 444 DUI arrests during the recent New Year’s Eve “Heat Is On” enforcement period, Dec. 30, 2009 through Jan. 4, 2010. That brought the total number of DUI arrests made during DUI enforcement periods since Thanksgiving to 1,631.

“There were plenty of warnings given over the holiday season that drinking and driving would not be tolerated,” said Col. James Wolfinbarger, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “Most people got the message, but there were still hundreds of people who recklessly put lives in jeopardy by driving impaired. As we begin a new year, let’s all make a resolution to never get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol.”

Thousands of people have taken action to educate themselves and plan ahead when drinking alcohol. The “R-U-Buzzed BAC Calculator” iPhone app, launched by CDOT in early December, has been downloaded 103,400 times from the Apple App Store and has remained in the Top 25 Free Healthcare & Fitness apps since its introduction. The free app allows users to calculate their estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) based on how many drinks they have consumed, how long they have been drinking, and their gender.

“We’re glad to see people are interested in using this high-tech tool to educate themselves about how much alcohol it can take to affect their ability to drive safely,” said Pamela Hutton, CDOT’s governor’s representative for highway safety. “When in doubt, the safest and smartest option is to always designate a sober driver.”

According to preliminary reports, nine people were killed on Colorado roadways in alcohol-related crashes between Nov. 23 and Jan. 4, 2010. That is down slightly from the time period in 2008-09 when 12 people were killed in drunk driving crashes.

The following agencies and CSP Troops made the highest number of DUI arrests during the New Year’s enforcement period:



Denver PD 55

Colorado Springs PD 42

Larimer County SO 17

Adams County SO 16

Aurora PD 16

CSP Troop 2B Colo. Spgs. 16

Lakewood PD 15

CSP Troop 2D Pueblo 12

Jefferson Co. SO 12

Boulder PD 11

CSP Troop 1C Castle Rock 11

CSP Troop 1D Adams 11

The next “Heat Is On” DUI enforcement period will occur over Super Bowl weekend, Feb. 5-8th.

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For more information on the DUI enforcement period results and local law enforcement statistics, visit www.dot.state.co.us/trafficsafety/ and click “Reports” on the header. Choose “Heat is on! Enforcement,” select the enforcement period and agency and click “View Report.”