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The "Heat Is On" campaign wrapped up Wednesday morning. Over the holiday weekend, the Colorado Springs Police Department made twenty-two more DUI arrests, compared to 2007.
But it also seems New Year's revelers are becoming better aware of the dangers of driving under the influence. They are calling cabs in record numbers.
Yellow Cab General Manager Fred Hair said the phone rang about 8,000 times on New Year's Eve. He said his employees dispatched about 3,300 trips.
Many of those trips were paid for by attorney Michael McDivitt, part of a free cab ride campaign.
With or without McDivitt paying the tab, Hair said, overall, Yellow Cab dispatched a couple hundred more trips than last year.
He said, "It seems to go up every year. People are becoming much more aware."
There might be more cab riders each year, but there are also more DUI arrests. CSPD made 56 DUI arrests this year. Last year, officers made 34 arrests.
Lt. Skip Arms said more arrests resulted from more law enforcement, thanks to a grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation.
He said, "We utilized additional DUI officers on overtime to be available not only that weekend but also New Year's Eve and New Year's Day."
Beyond the obvious public safety concerns, Hair said taking a cab just makes sense (and cents). He said, relatively speaking, it is cheap.
He said, "It depends where you live. 20 bucks, 30 bucks? A DUI defense? Eight grand. If you're in a collision, oh my. Is that going to be costly."
