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Champagne toasts and
celebrations for New Year's Eve, coupled with the
increased presence of law enforcement locally, may lead
a layman to believe there were many DUI arrests. That
belief, though, wouldn't be totally correct.
The Nevada Highway Patrol actually reported no DUI
arrests on the Nevada side of the Tahoe Basin's highways
on New Year's Eve. Incline Village's Washoe County
Sheriff's Office substation reported four, a higher than
usual number.
"That is actually what we generally foresee in terms of
DUIs because of our increased presence," said NHP
Trooper Chuck Allen.
Allen said a very visible law enforcement presence was a
deterrent for would-be drunken drivers.
"I think because of how much we publicized our presence
around the lake, people thought ahead and got designated
drivers or taxis," Allen said. "Our goal was to prevent
intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel
instead of having to arrest them."
While the highways were free of drunken drivers, the
same can't be said for local roads. The four DUI arrests
by WCSO deputies were an increase from only one last
year, said Sgt. Bill Devine.
"When you consider four DUIs, that is actually a pretty
significant number," Devine said. "As far back as I can
remember that's higher than usual because that is the
one night per year people plan for a designated driver."
He said DUIs cause a headache for local law enforcement.
"Whenever there is a DUI arrest it ties up two deputies
for a couple of hours. Four is a lot for one night and a
lot of work to do," Devine said.
Only one of those four arrests actually occurred on New
Year's Eve, and it was added in to the WCSO's final
total for 2007.
Devine said 273 DUI arrests were made in 2007 by the
Incline substation's deputies, up from 233 in 2006. He
pointed to increased enforcement as a possible reason
for the rise in arrests.
Devine said he expects to release a report next week
which details the months with the highest number of DUI
arrests and a breakdown of the numbers of tourists and
locals who were arrested.
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