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Connecticut State Police Make More DUI Arrests In New Year's Crackdown

FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn. -- Connecticut State Police more than doubled its number of drunken driving arrests and and responded to many more crashes during the 2015 New Year's traffic enforcement compared with last year. 

A total 38 people were arrested on DUI charges by state police this year, compared with 18 last year. State police responded to 158 accidents, up from 84 last year. No fatalities were reported during the time period on Connecticut's roads and highways. 

State Police Troopers patrolled roads and highways of Connecticut with additional manpower in place performing both sobriety checkpoints and targeted enforcement, spokesman Lt. J. Paul Vance said in a statement. 

The operation began at midnight Tuesday, Dec. 30, and continued into the New Year, ending at midnight Thursday, Jan. 1.    

The following are the enforcement statistics for the 2014-15 New Year's holiday: 

  • Accidents investigated: 158
  • With injury: 28
  • With fatalities: 0
  • Speeding citations: 726
  • Seatbelt citations: 22
  • Hazardous moving citations: 1,593
  • DUI arrests: 38

For comparison, during New Years Eve 2013-2014, troopers issued summons to drivers for the following motor vehicle violations:

  • Accidents investigated: 84 

  • With injury: 18

  • With fatalities: 0

  • DUI arrests: 18 

  • Speeding: 560
  • Seatbelt violations: 16
  • Other Hazardous Moving Violations (following too close, cell phone violations, unsafe lane change, failure to signal etc): 1,040

The Connecticut State Police operated both marked and unmarked patrol cars in attempting to remove all unsafe and intoxicated drivers from Connecticut’s roads and highways.

"State Police enforcement of all motor vehicle laws will continue into 2015 in an effort to increase safety on the roads and highways of Connecticut," Vance said in the statement.

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