Utah Highway Patrol launches statewide DUI blitz looking for drunk drivers this holiday season

ST. GEORGE — A statewide DUI blitz is in full swing this holiday season, a combined effort by the Utah Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies to crack down on impaired driving and reduce the number of fatal crashes.

Image of police officer on side of vehicle with alcohol bottle on roof of car | Photo courtesy of Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News

The Utah Department of Public Safety has joined forces with Intermountain Healthcare to kick off this year’s campaign, entitled “Every Sip Has a Consequence,” an innovative effort outlined during a press conference held Friday in Park City, which aims to prevent impairment-caused crashes.

The effort also focuses on the dangers and moral and legal consequences of choosing to drive impaired this holiday season – impairment that begins “as soon as you start drinking,” said UHP Col. Michael Rapich.

To that end, troopers, deputies and officers from agencies throughout Utah will be out in full force during the holidays pulling extra DUI shifts in search of motorists driving impaired.

In Utah, 37 people die on average each year in crashes caused by a drunk driver. But last year, that number nearly doubled, with 61 occupants killed in crashes involving an impaired driver, UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden said during the conference, adding that “drinking and driving is 100% preventable.”

“Officers will be on high alert – looking to get impaired drivers off the roads,” he added.

Rapich, a 30 year veteran of the agency, said that drinking alcohol with family and friends over the holiday season is not the problem – it is the “really bad decisions” that some people make by getting behind the wheel of a car when they are impaired.

Individual law enforcement agencies across Utah will also be working their own overtime DUI shifts as well, he added.

Crashes involving an impaired driver – an emergency room physician’s perspective

Many of those involved in serious or fatal crashes end up at one of several emergency rooms across the state. During the press conference, Dr. Wing Province, medical director at Intermountain Park City Hospital, shared some of his experiences as an emergency room doctor and described the devastating injuries that can result in crashes when a motorist decides to drive impaired.

Utah Highway Patrol Col. Michael Rapich speaks over video during press conference for DUI Blitz campaign, “Every sip has a consequence,” on Friday, Park City, Utah, Dec. 17, 2021 | Image courtesy of Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News

Province described a particularly tragic crash that took place a few years ago involving a couple who had gone to dinner and were driving home when their vehicle was struck by a drunk driver. The couple’s vehicle was struck on the passenger side, where his wife had been sitting. She was flown to the hospital and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

The man, whom the doctor called “Ed,” did not know his wife was killed, Province said, since his wife was flown to the hospital and he was ground transported with serious injuries.

He only found out later that his wife was killed in the crash.

“I had the unfortunate task of having to tell Ed that his sweetheart of more than 50 years had passed away from that accident,” Province said.

Many patients arrive at the hospital with catastrophic injuries from these types of crashes, and many do not survive these types of crashes, he said, adding that the effects on the families of those killed are completely devastating.

Medical staff are also affected by the losses incurred, and oftentimes it is the medical staff that are left to inform families members that a loved one was killed by a drunk driver – particularly during the holidays.

Impaired driving in Utah 2021

So far this year, troopers have arrested more than 10,600 intoxicated drivers.

“That’s 10,600 intoxicated drivers that didn’t end up in a horrible event,” Rapich said.

Infographic showing effects of alcohol by blood alcohol level | Image courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News

As high as those numbers are, there were more than 1,900 crashes that took place involving an impaired driver, costing 56 people their lives.

Rapich said this year, beyond reminding motorists not to drink and drive, he wants the public to understand both the legal and emotional consequences that come with being involved in a fatal crash.

“You don’t get over that. Your life is never the same,” he said.

Alcohol myths and effects on the body

According to the Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, there are critical decision-making abilities and driving-related skills that are severely impaired by alcohol, and those abilities are already diminished long before a person shows obvious signs of intoxication.

2020 file photo of Cadillac after striking a second vehicle during a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 15 in Mohave County, Ariz., Dec. 17, 2020 | Photo courtesy of Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire and Ambulance, St. George News

While alcohol may initially appear to be a stimulant, as many who drink are upbeat and excited, the institute says alcohol actually reduces inhibitions and judgment, which can in turn lead to reckless behaviors.

The more alcohol consumed, the longer the reaction times. The ability to control behavior also continues to disintegrate, experts say.

Alcohol can also cause blackouts, or gaps in memory that result from intoxication, which occurs when the amount of alcohol ingested temporarily blocks the transfer of memories, both short-term and long-term memory storage.

Moreover, at higher levels, alcohol acts as a depressant, which can cause unconsciousness if the levels are high enough. At higher levels, those who drink can even face a life-threatening alcohol overdose that then suppresses vital life functions.

While some may believe they will begin to sober up right after they stop drinking and drink a cup of coffee, for example, the truth is that alcohol continues to have an effect on the brain long after the person stops drinking, as the alcohol in the stomach and intestines continues to enter the bloodstream – which then results in impaired coordination and judgment that can go on for hours.

It all comes down to consequences

A recent study by Mad Mothers Against Drunk Driving revealed that, on average, a motorist has driven impaired more than 80 times before they are ever arrested, which is not only shocking, Rapich said, but worrisome.

Additionally, over the past 10 years, the highest number of drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes in Utah were those between the ages of 21 and 39, and 72% of those arrested for driving under the influence were men.

Ultimately, what the data, statistics and information from the emergency room physician reveals is that every sip has a consequence, Rapich said, adding a message of encouragement to all drivers to do what they can on the front end to prevent horrible things from happening.

“These aren’t just statistics — these are bad decisions that result in violent and horrible and tragic results,” he said.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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