associate holidays with celebrations and celebrations with beer. Unfortunately,
many of the same people tend to drive after drinking a lot, resulting
in a spike in DUIs on some holidays. However, a recent popular holiday
actually saw a decrease in drunk driving incidents recorded by Arizona
police. This caught many people by surprise.
The holiday was Cinco de Mayo, celebrated as the name indicates on May
5 each year. Originally celebrated primarily by speakers of Spanish, it
is now popular among Americans from a diverse array of cultural backgrounds.
For many of them, it does involve drinking.
In view of that, the overall decrease in DUIs this Cinco de Mayo was a
pleasant surprise to many. The decrease totals 25, comparing the 2013
total of 525 to the 2014 total of 500. In both cases, the statistics include
all categories, such as
aggravated, over .15 blood alcohol level, priors, and misdemeanor DUIs. The timeframe
looked at for both years is May 1 to May 5.
Of course, not all the data was good. For example, 22 people in the under
age 21 category were arrested for DUIs compared to only 18 last year.
Additionally,
DUI drug arrests, of which there were 68 last, rose to 81 this year. Child-restraint citations
and seat-belt citations also rose.
Overall numbers falling is still good news, though. It is particularly
notable since there 450 more officers in 2014 participating in DUI enforcement
compared to 2013. Additionally, average blood alcohol content fell from
.151 in 2013 to .146 this year.
Of course, every Phoenix DUI is taken seriously. There are multiple charges that a person accused of
one can face. Convictions on such charges can be damaging to a career,
as well as a defendant’s home and social life. Building a strong defense
gives a defendant the best chance of receiving a positive outcome in his
or her case.
Source: Your West Valley, “Overall Arizona Cinco de Mayo DUI stats fall
since 2013” No author given, May. 06, 2014
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