In a year of pandemic, an economic slowdown and civil unrest, it is not surprising that the celebration of the nation’s birthday was also unusual. There were fewer fireworks displays than normal this year, less holiday traffic and dramatically fewer drunk driving arrests across Arizona.
Big drop in 2020
According to the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, 193 were arrested for DUI over the Fourth of July weekend (July 3 through July 5). Last year, there were 512 DUI arrests over the holiday weekend – more than twice as many as this year’s total.
Fifty-one of this year’s arrests were for extreme DUI, which means the driver’s BAC (blood alcohol content) was measured at .15 percent or higher. The legal threshold in Arizona is .08 percent.
In 2019, there were 141 extreme DUI arrests – again more than double this year’s total.
Extreme DUI penalties
Enhanced punishments for an extreme DUI conviction include:
30 to 80 days in jail
Driver’s license suspension of 90 days to a year
Ignition interlock for 12 months
Up to 5 years of probation
Law enforcement officers across the state conducted 5,240 traffic stops over the holiday weekend this year, compared to last year’s 15,174 stops.
According to a Phoenix news report, the average known BAC of those arrested this year was .159 percent.
In addition to drunk driving arrest totals, another 65 were arrested for drugged driving.
If you were arrested in Arizona and do nothing, you’ll face some of the nation’s toughest DUI punishments. You have legal options, however. Contact an attorney experienced in drunk driving defense to learn more.
