State Police make 363 DUI arrests during two-day drunk driving campaign

The Indiana State Police arrested 363 people for driving under the influence this weekend.

The arrests came while the officers were conducting a state-wide campaign targeting drunk driving, Sgt. Joe Watts of the state police said in a press release.

From 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, state police were assigned to specifically seek out and arrest impaired drivers, Watts said.

In 2009, 10,839 people were killed nationally in vehicle accidents that involved a driver or motorcyclist with a blood alcohol content higher than .08, according to the National Highway Patrol.

In Indiana, there were 8,855 alcohol-related crashes, resulting in the deaths of 168 people.

In 2010, troopers arrested 9,528 people for driving under the influence. This year, the state police have already arrested 5,364 impaired drivers as of Aug. 1.

Aside from the 663 impaired driving arrests during the two days, officers also issued 3,131 traffic citations and 5,829 warnings and arrested 445 people for various other violations.

“The purpose of the two-day enforcement campaign was to remove impaired drivers from Indiana roadways before they caused needless pain, suffering and death to innocent victims,” Watts said.

— Jake New