HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania State Police made a record number of arrests for driving under the influence last year, while alcohol-related fatalities in crashes investigated by troopers dropped by 14 percent from 2008, announced Commissioner Frank E. Pawlowski.
“It’s clear that our efforts to keep impaired drivers off our roads in Pennsylvania are having a positive impact,” Pawlowski said. “Our troopers are helping to save lives by cracking down hard on those who drink and drive.”
Pawlowski said troopers made 16,900 DUI arrests in 2009, an increase of 4 percent over the 16,156 DUI arrests reported the previous year. He said the number of alcohol-related fatalities decreased from 161 in 2008 to 141 in 2009, while the number of alcohol-related crashes investigated by troopers declined slightly under 1 percent from 4,664 in 2008 to 4,625 last year.
Pawlowski said expansion of the department’s drug recognition expert program and continuation of its Operation Nighthawk program have played a role in the department’s DUI-enforcement success.
The drug recognition expert program trains troopers and municipal police officers to identify drivers operating under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs and other substances.
“Although alcohol is the intoxicant most often responsible for impaired driving, it’s not the only one that renders individuals incapable of safely operating a vehicle,” Pawlowski said.
Drug recognition experts last year conducted 1,118 drug influence evaluations, an increase of 61 percent over the 693 evaluations conducted in 2008.
Pawlowski said 63 troopers and 18 municipal police officers in Pennsylvania have been certified as drug recognition experts since 2004.
The department’s Operation Nighthawk program provides troopers and municipal police officers with classroom training regarding DUI-related issues on two consecutive evenings. The officers then immediately take part in roving patrols to identify and arrest operators who are under the influence.
Pawlowski noted that troopers and municipal officers made 61 DUI arrests, 10 underage drinking arrests and seven drug law arrests during an Operation Nighthawk program held in April in Berks County. One or two more programs will be conducted this year, he said.
Pawlowski said that while state police and municipal police have ramped up their anti-DUI efforts in recent years, the responsibility to end all DUI-related crashes and fatalities rests with individual drivers.
“Every person has the responsibility to stay out of the driver’s seat if they are impaired by alcohol or other drugs,” Pawlowski said. “Our enforcement efforts help to save lives, but we need the cooperation and help of every motorist in ending impaired driving.”