More Longmont police officers will be on the lookout this Labor Day weekend for people who imbibed too much and decided to get behind the wheel.
A $21,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation will pay officers overtime to step up patrols to nab impaired drivers over the holiday, traditionally the end to the summer party season.
The extra officers will concentrate on DUI arrests and accidents to allow their fellow officers to do their regular patrols, said officer Tyler Bartlett.
“It frees up other officers to work other emergency calls that always come up,” Bartlett said. “We already know this is a busy time of the year for impaired driving so this allows us a lot more leeway to handle other safety concerns in the community.”
The High Visibility Impaired Driving Enforcement is part of a statewide effort to bolster DUI enforcement during certain times of the year when people tend to drink — or otherwise ingest too much — and decide to drive, Bartlett said.
The holidays and special party times of the year the overtime funds target are Winter Blitz; Super Bowl weekend; Presidents’ week; St. Patrick’s Day; spring events; Memorial Day; Summer Blitz; Fourth of July; Summer Strikeout; the Sturgis, South Dakota, motorcycle rally; Labor Day; fall festivals; Halloween; Thanksgiving; holiday parties and New Year’s Eve, according to an August report from Longmont Public Safety to city council.
Longmont police also have on hand four officers specially trained to spot drivers impaired through the consumption of marijuana and other drugs, Bartlett said.
“Alcohol remains the most prevalent drug in our society right now and it’s easily recognizable to the public,” Bartlett said. “These officers can do evaluations on a driver’s consumption of drugs like marijuana and not just alcohol.”
The stretch between Memorial Day and Labor Day are traditionally called the “100 deadly days of summer,” said Sam Cole, Colorado Department of Transportation spokesman.
The hope that the COVID-19 pandemic would put fewer people on the road and result in fewer impaired-related crashes has not been realized, Cole said.
“The numbers have actually gone up and that’s really concerning to us,” he said.
Fatal crashes due to DUI on Colorado roads between January and July rose from 28% fatalities in 2019 to 30% in 2020, according to a CDOT news release issued late last month.
The 2020 Labor Day enforcement period — from Aug. 21- Sept. 8 — has led to increased patrols across 81 law enforcement agencies. Last year, 99 agencies participated, resulting in 899 DUI arrests, according to the CDOT news release.
Bartlett said there will not be DUI checkpoints set up in Longmont during the Labor Day holiday. But officers will be ready to apprehend those who grab their car keys after too much partying.
“Our view is to make sure people will be safe during this holiday and others,” he said.
