Utah, Dec. 31, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — After the nation’s toughest DUI law went into effect in the Beehive State Sunday, the Utah Highway Patrol made eight arrests in the first 24 hours, though all were above .08, which was the old limit.
Last year, 10 arrests were made in the same time frame, the UHP said in a tweet.
“On Dec. 30, Utah law regulating a driver’s blood alcohol concentration will change,” a UHP news release said.
“Instead of a .08 threshold, the new per se limit will be .05. As far as the Utah Highway Patrol is concerned, it will be business as usual and troopers will not change their behavior when evaluating a driver to determine if s/he is impaired.”
The 2017 Utah Legislature passed HB155, “Driving Under the Influence and Public Safety Revisions.” The new law went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.
UHP held a 10 a.m. press conference Monday to discuss the first 24 hours of the new law. UHP Colonel Michael Rapich spoke.
“Really the message we have is we’re still out doing business, our troopers are still employing the same standards and the same operating procedures, that if they become suspicious that someone might be driving impaired, they investigate that,” he said.
“They look at everything that’s involved, they look at the driving pattern, they look at the physical appearance, the way the individual is communicating with them. They’ll go through a battery of field sobriety tests, and really after all of that the conclusion, if they feel that person is not safe to drive a motor vehicle, they’ll make an arrest for driving impaired.”
Rapich said he hopes the new law will result in a decrease in DUI arrests.
“If we can make people to make a good decision on the front end — not put themselves in a position to drive while impaired, to put other people in danger, to put themselves in danger, and definitely not put themselves in a set of circumstances where they could be arrested for driving while impaired, because that is not a good result either,” Rapich said. “We hope to see a big change.”
Rapich said there will be a briefing for troopers at 9 p.m. New Year’s Eve and troopers will be out in force through the night.
A Monday UHP tweet asked drivers to be careful.
“Please continue to plan ahead and make safe decisions and drive sober. Take advantage of all the options you have to get home safely.”
UHP officials said if people are drinking on New Year’s Eve, they are ideally asked to find another way to get home, such as using a designated driver, calling a cab or downloading a rideshare app such as Lyft or Uber.
AAA Utah is once again offering its “Tipsy Tow” service on New Year’s Eve, starting from 6 p.m. Monday and running until 6 a.m. Tuesday. “Tipsy Tow” provides a free ride home and vehicle tow of up to 10 miles for any driver. Motorists are charged a standard towing rate for mileage beyond that. To use the service, call 1-800-222-4357 and state that you need a “Tipsy Tow.”
For FAQs on the new DUI law, click here.
