Arizonans Not Driving Plastered on Independence Day Like They Used to

It looks like folks just aren't getting behind the wheel plastered on Independence Day like they used to.Stats from the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety show the fewest DUI arrests, 367, over the lengthy Independence Day weekend since 2009...

By Matthew Hendley

July 8, 2013

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It looks like folks just aren't getting behind the wheel plastered on Independence Day like they used to.

Stats from the Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety show the fewest DUI arrests, 367, over the lengthy Independence Day weekend since 2009.

Consider this -- 2009 was the last year there were fewer DUIs over the Independence Day weekend. There were 3,671 people pulled over by cops doing DUI enforcement during that weekend, and nearly 10 percent of those drivers, 350, were arrested for DUI.

This year, 6,074 drivers were pulled over, and 6 percent (367 people) were arrested for DUI.

Along those lines, police pulled over more than 13,500 drivers last year and found 309 sober designated drivers behind the wheel. This year, again, with 6,074 drivers being pulled over, police found 307 sober designated drivers.

It looks like more people may be figuring out the don't-get-a-DUI lesson.

This year's 97 extreme-DUI arrests were the lowest of the previous five years of data provided. The number of under-21 DUI arrests, 16, was lower than any of the last five years, too.

The numbers can be found below:

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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.

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