Ariz. holiday period DUI arrests rise in 2009

Arizona’s 16 DUI task forces around the state made more than 14,000 driving-under-the-influence arrests in 2009 including nearly 4,500 from Thanksgiving to New Year’s.

Those figures are up from 2008 when the task forces made some 10,500 DUI arrests but only about 2,700 from the Thanksgiving-to-Jan. 1 holiday span.

Statistics released Jan. 1 by Gov. Jan Brewer’s office show that 960 DUI arrests for the holiday period were for extreme DUI with drivers having blood-alcohol levels of .15 or higher. That’s well above the 0.08 percent legal limit to operate a vehicle in Arizona.

The state tasks forces also report 194 DUI arrests for drivers under age 21 in the 2009 Thanksgiving-to-New Year’s period and 492 under-21 liquor law citations.