Three DUI checkpoints were held, one in each county. A total of 60 officers participated from 15 municipal law enforcement agencies as well as Delaware State Police.

DOVER (DE) BY DIGITAL STAFF:  Fourth of July is probably the most exciting holiday of the summer with family and friends who join each other for backyard cookouts, casual get togethers, and fireworks events. But the fun comes at a cost and even though advance notice was given to the public about drinking and driving and statewide checkpoints that was going to be set up, some travelers ignored those warnings, causing accidents and in some cases fatalities.

Last year, the Delaware office of Highway Safety DUI checkpoints were cancelled due to the pandemic.

“We did not run the DUI checkpoints because of the pandemic.”, said Cynthia Cavett, spokeswoman at the Delaware Office of Highway Safety. “Unfortunately, most of the 2020 statewide DUI checkpoints that we normally run from OHS were cancelled during the pandemic due to social distancing measures and the emergency declaration guidance/regulations.”

This year, over a five day period, Delaware law enforcement officers statewide arrested six individuals for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of alcohol, drugs, or a combination of alcohol and drugs at sobriety checkpoints on July 2, 2021, at 10 p.m. – July 3, 2021, at 2 a.m.

Three DUI checkpoints were held, one in each county. A total of 60 officers participated from 15 municipal law enforcement agencies as well as Delaware State Police.

In addition to the six DUI arrests, officers cited one minor for an underage drinking violation, apprehended two wanted persons with outstanding warrants, and made 11 drug arrests.

Totals for the three checkpoints:

Total # of vehicles through checkpoints:                  2,575
DUI arrests:                                                                    6
Drivers detained for DUI investigation:                     40
Drug arrests:                                                                  11
Underage drinking violations:                                     1
Wanted person apprehensions:                                 2
Seatbelt/Child Passenger Safety Restraints:            15
Other traffic arrests:                                                    15

Last year, there were 63 DUI arrests statewide during the July 4th holiday weekend between July 2 – July 6, 2020. Delaware saw a total of 24 crashes over the same 5 day period. While there were no fatalities involved in those 24 crashes, there were 8 possible/minor injuries and 1 serious injury.

“The Office of Highway Safety would like to thank the Delaware State Police and local law enforcement agencies for their efforts to conduct the checkpoints and remove impaired drivers from our roadways,” said Kimberly Chesser, Director, Delaware Office of Highway Safety.

OHS will coordinate the next DUI Checkpoint activation during the Labor Day holiday weekend on September 3, 2021. Three DUI checkpoints will occur statewide, in addition to DUI patrols occurring during the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over Enforcement and Campaign between August 20 – September 6 to deter individuals from driving while impaired.

OHS encourages drivers to use its recently launched Arrive Alive DE Impaired Driving Simulator — available at ArriveAliveDE.com/Drive-Sober—a first-of-its-kind augmented reality tool to help website visitors see the potential effects of impairment on driving. Additionally, the “drive sober” website page houses the new BAC Calculator tool to teach website visitors about the impairing effects of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), which refers to the percentage of alcohol in a person’s bloodstream. In Delaware, a person is legally intoxicated if they have a BAC of 0.08% or higher.

OHS reminds drivers and passengers that in addition to alcohol and illegal drugs, medications prescribed by a healthcare provider and even some over-the-counter drugs can impair driving and may result in a DUI arrest. 

Impaired Driving Statistics for Delaware | Delaware Office of Highway Safety

Over the period of 5 years from 2016-2020, drivers between the ages of 35-44 have shown the highest numbers of DUI crashes, with drivers 20 to 29 trailing behind. In the age-gender groups, it seems that age 20-29 and 35-44 males are the biggest contributors to this trend. Saturday typically has the highest number of DUI-related crashes, followed closely by Sunday for the 5-year average. The times where DUI-related crashes occur the most are Friday 9 p.m. – 12 a.m., Saturday 9 p.m. – 12 a.m., Sunday 12 a.m. – 3 a.m., and Saturday 12 a.m. – 3 a.m.