5 Places You Were Most Likely to Get Caught DUI During Holiday Weekend

Memorial Day holiday weekend arrest statistics show DUI arrests, designated driving, up.

June 1, 2017

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It was another mixed blessing holiday weekend for the state's anti-DUI warriors.

Statewide over the Memorial Day weekend, police arrested 552 drivers who showed a little too much appreciation for the sacrifices of men and women in the armed forces. That marked an 11 percent jump in DUI arrests from last year’s Memorial Day holiday.

Up even more sharply – nearly 50 percent – were contacts with sober designated drivers. Police interacted with 874 of them.

"That's the kind of number that makes my day, because that's a life saved," said Alberto Gutier, director of the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

Upshot: Arizona drank more, but did so more responsibly than last year.

For those who were less responsible, here were the five places most likely for getting nabbed:

Messed up in Mesa: Mesa issued 74 DUI tickets.

Polluted in Phoenix: 45 tickets.

Shit-faced in Scottsdale: 33 tickets.

Twisted in Tempe: 25 tickets.

Groggy in Gilbert: 20 tickets.

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Sean Holstege is a former editor of Phoenix New Times. He's been a print news reporter for 35 years. He was an investigative reporter at The Arizona Republic and the Oakland Tribune. He won a Sigma Delta Chi award for investigative reporting. He’s covered transportation, terrorism, the border, disasters, child welfare, courts, and breaking news.

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