Some Perspective on the New Year’s 2013 DUI Season
In the 78 hours from 6:00 p.m. Friday, December 28th, to midnight January 1st, the associated press reported that Georgia state troopers made 321 Georgia DUI arrests, up from 262 reported last year. According to the most recent statistics, in 2008 Georgia had around 25,000 DUI arrests. Taking this as a general average, we can assume that this year there were about 481 DUI arrests per week, which gives an average of around 69 DUI arrests per day. So for the 78-hour New Year’s celebration, there were roughly 50% more DUI arrests compared to a normal 3-day period. Considering the impact of heightened patrols versus carelessness, it’s hard to say if there was a 50% greater chance of getting arrested for DUI over the 78-hour New Year’s period. Regardless, whatever time of year it’s never safe to take your chances drinking and driving, especially when you compare the cost of a taxi with the cost of a DUI.
