This festive time of year often means celebrations with family, friends and loved ones. Alcohol is often a part of these celebrations. Police are well aware of this fact and may be watching for signs of what they assume is impaired driving. Alaska’s Department of Safety conducts a holiday enforcement campaign every year, resulting in numerous DUI arrests. DPS says that the most recent Thanksgiving holiday saw an increase in arrests and citations over last year.
DPS says that every Thanksgiving means more patrols, though they say that law enforcement authorities issued many more citations this year than last. The national safety campaign means an increase in the number of state and wildlife troopers looking for illegal driving behavior, such as intoxicated driving or speeding. Over the Thanksgiving weekend, reports say that this year saw two felony DUI arrests while none happened last year, though the number of misdemeanor DUI arrests was the same. Traffic citations rose sharply, with 647 issued this year and 232 issued last year.
The good news is that there were no fatal collisions, this year or last and the number of injury crashes actually dropped by one. However, crashes causing damage to vehicles more than doubled this year. DPS admits that part of the increase is due to the longer time frame sampled. This year, crashes from November 16th through the 29th were analyzed while last year, only a period of six days counted.
At least 12 DUI arrests happened during the enforcement period as well as numerous traffic citations. While many drivers may believe that these sorts of crimes are not concerning, they have the potential to negatively impact a person’s future. Having a DUI conviction on a person’s record can impede the ability to obtain employment or a loan, long after any sentence has been served. A skilled criminal defense attorney here in Alaska may be able to assist those accused with their case and facilitate a more positive outcome.
