Highway safety officials are stepping up efforts to prevent impaired driving this New Year’s Eve holiday.
Since Thanksgiving five people have been killed on First State roads due to drunk drivers, including two Delawareans who died on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Office of Highway Safety spokesperson Allison Kirk says law enforcement officials will be working overtime for the year-end holiday.
“We’re going to have supplemental patrols around Delaware as well looking for impaired drivers aggressive drivers and making sure everybody’s buckled up on our roadways,” said Kirk.
Kirk says law enforcement started the weekend with DUI checkpoints in New Castle, Longneck and Smyrna Friday and Saturday. There will be another in Wilmington Monday. Those four areas are where alcohol-related accidents most frequently occur.
Delaware police have arrested nearly 4,800 motorists this year for impaired driving. That’s more than 500 more than last year, a 13 percent increase. That upswing comes after a four-year decline in Delaware.
“We’re seeing a high number of DUI arrests. Hopefully we don’t hit 5,000. But, we’re getting close to 5,000 DUI arrests so far this year -- we’re up to almost 48 hundred, so hopefully we can end the year under 5,000 -- for a small state that is a big number,” said Kirk.
Kirk says the final tally this year is unlikely to top the yearly totals from 2006-2009, which all came in above 6,000.