DUI Arrests Up on NYE

New Year’s Eve always brings out throngs of people who are celebrating the new year. Always with friends, usually with some champagne to ring in the new year, and not always with a safe plan for their return home at the end of the evening. There are always plenty of options. A designated driver, a taxi, Uber or Lyft, even some local organizations offer free rides home at the end of the evening, and still so many end up beginning the new year with a DUI. 2015 started off the same as every other year, only this year there were more arrests in San Diego to kick off the new year than there were when we began 2014.

DUI arrests were actually down across the state this year. There were 309 DUI arrests made in a 12-hour span from New Year’s Eve to New Year’s Day. In comparison, last year there were 324 DUI arrests during the same time period. DUI arrests being down are always a good sign, because it means that people are avoiding the potentially deadly repercussions of getting behind the wheel after they have been drinking. We applaud these efforts. It really is not too difficult to make sure you get home safe at the end of the evening. It takes a few extra minutes of planning at the beginning of the evening to decide how you will arrive home safely.

DUI arrests were not down in one particular county for the beginning of 2015. In San Diego County, while the rest of the state was attempting to get a fresh, and safe start to their new year, DUI arrests were up. 2014 brought in the new year with 14 DUI arrests, and San Diego County rang in 2015 with a whopping 20 DUI arrests. Even worse, while last year there were no DUI related fatalities, there was a fatality related to drunk driving this year. The selfish act of drunk driving does not just affect the driver in the long run, it also can affect a family, friends, spouse, or children of the driver, or even worse someone else. Orange County also saw a rise in DUI arrests from last year to 2015. Last year CHP arrested 14 drunk drivers, and this year they arrested 22. It is disheartening to see these numbers keep rising when there are options for getting home that do not include being behind the wheel while you are intoxicated.

We are excited to report that DUI arrests were down overall through out the state, this means that people all over the state made the wise decision of avoiding driving after they had been drinking. However, that number did not go down in all counties. We at Smart Start of California hope that the number of DUIs does not increase throughout the year, and that people take notice of the mistake and decide to make better choices as the year goes on. Remember drunk driving is not an option because there are plenty of other options that would help keep you and your loved ones, and those around you safer and happier through the year.