UTAH, Feb. 5, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Department of Public Safety is asking drivers who choose celebrate Super Bowl Sunday with alcohol to stay off the roads.
And it says extra law enforcement officers will be out in anticipation of those who choose to drink and to drive under the influence.
“The National Football League’s Super Bowl LV is on Sunday, February 7, 2021, and it’s one of America’s favorite annual celebrations,” a Utah DPS statement says.
“Whether or not the game goes into overtime, Utah’s law enforcement officers will be working DUI overtime shifts to deter, detect and stop impaired drivers. Whatever your plans for watching the Super Bowl are if they include drinking, make sure they don’t include driving.
“Twenty-five different law enforcement agencies will be working more than 75 DUI overtime shifts.”
Every year, Utah law enforcement increases both DUI prevention education and DUI enforcement for the Super Bowl, the agency’s statement says.
“Unfortunately, individuals still make the bad call to get behind the wheel after drinking. Over the past 5 years, there have been an average of 40 DUI arrests on Super Bowl Sunday in Utah.”
The Utah Highway Patrol and 73 law enforcement agencies throughout Utah recently completed a two-week Winter Holiday DUI enforcement period, arresting 101 impaired drivers, the statement says. The 101 arrests were a decrease from the 196 arrests during the same enforcement last year.
DUI enforcement is conducted 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but increased enforcement accompanies holidays and special events, the agency’s statement says.
“Although the way we view sporting events has changed for now, we still want to make sure everyone is safe on Super Bowl Sunday.”
