DUI patrols boosted for New Year’s Eve
Bucks County authorities know the implications of impaired driving well: Between 2013 and 2014, officers have handled dozens of drunk-driving crashes that ended in 23 deaths.
DOYLESTOWN Bucks County authorities know the implications of impaired driving well: Between 2013 and 2014, officers have handled dozens of drunk-driving crashes that ended in 23 deaths.
So this year, in an effort to prevent impaired-driving incidents on New Year's Eve, local and state police are boosting patrols in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, especially along the Route 611 and Route 309 corridors.
From 10 p.m. Thursday to 3 a.m. Friday, officers from 11 municipal police departments - nine in Bucks County and two in Montgomery County - will employ additional officers on the roads to spot signs of unsafe driving, the Bucks County District Attorney's office announced Wednesday.
Thursday's patrol is the second initiative undertaken by Bucks County this year to curb impaired driving. The first, on Thanksgiving Eve along the Street Road corridor in Lower Bucks County, resulted in 10 arrests during a five-hour period.
Both efforts have been largely funded by a federal safety grant administered by PennDot.
"If you drink, please be responsible," said Matt Weintraub, chief of prosecution for the District Attorney's Office, in a statement. "Have a designated driver, stay over, call a cab, call Uber. Just don't put yourself and others at risk by drinking and driving." - Caitlin McCabe