State Patrol Makes 1,150 DUI Arrests Through April This Year

Editor’s note: Washington State Patrol District 1 spokesman Guy Gill released the following information.

Thurston and Pierce county troopers continue to work aggressively to enforce laws to keep citizens safe on our roadways. Every time a trooper stops an impaired, speeding, or aggressive driver a life is potentially saved. Citizens expect hard work from us and here’s what we’ve done for them during the first 4 months of this year.  

• (DUI’s) Impaired drivers: Troopers removed 1,154 drivers from our roadways who were impaired by alcohol and/or drugs.  
  
• Speeders: Troopers stopped 20,200 speeding drivers and issued 14,788 tickets.
  
• Seat belt violations: Troopers stopped 3,623 drivers for not wearing a seatbelt and issued 3,049 tickets.
• Aggressive drivers: Trooper stopped 3,459 aggressive drivers who have committed two or more moving violations that are likely to endanger persons or property, or any single intentional violation that requires defensive reaction by another driver.

Here’s the result of all this hard work: We’ve seen a 50 percent reduction in fatal collisions year to date from 2012. Reducing collisions has been, and always will be, our goal!  

We truly believe our efforts on the road enforcing collision causing violations directly contributed to the reduction. We are also very proud of the 15,510 calls for service where we have assisted stranded motorists, removed debris from the roadway, and provided back-up and assistance to other troopers and law enforcement agencies.    

In addition, we have recovered 11 stolen vehicles, stopped 1,342motorists for talking/texting while driving and investigated more than 1,906 collisions.  

In all, troopers in District 1 have stopped and contacted 41,737drivers during the first 4 months of this year. Keeping our roads safe is a huge job. Thurston and Pierce county troopers will continue working hard to keep citizens safe and earn their trust, confidence and respect.