If you were out celebrating St. Patrick’s Day last weekend or plan to this week, you could find yourself in some serious trouble if you decide or decided to get behind the wheel. This is because Colorado police resources have been increased in conjunction with the holiday and more police have been tasked with enforcing drunk driving laws until the day after St. Patrick’s Day.
This increase in enforcement efforts is a fairly standard practice during holidays. Police departments often receive additional funding so that they can crack down on drunk driving during times of the year or on days when people may be more likely to be drinking. What this means is that you probably will or already have noticed more police cars out on the road stopping drivers.
During periods of increased patrols, police officers may be more likely to stop drivers for things they would typically ignore during other times of the year. For instance, an officer may pull a driver over for being a little over the speed limit or for failing to use a turn signal just so they can have probable cause to approach the driver and see if there are signs of impairment.
In these situations, even drivers who are just barely over the legal limit or weren’t necessarily driving dangerously or erratically can be pulled over and asked to perform breath tests and field sobriety tests.
If you are one of these drivers who has been stopped and arrested for drunk driving, you need to know that DUI charges are very serious and they can cause considerable damage to your driving record, insurance premiums and even your future. Working to protect all these things by having legal representation can be a good way to avoid or minimize the potential consequences you could be facing.
Source: KKCO, “Colorado State Patrol ups DUI enforcement for St. Patrick’s Day weekend,” Lindsey Pallares, March 13, 2015