AURORA | Super Bowl revelers in Aurora will probably want to plan ahead if they will have a few celebratory alcoholic beverages this Sunday.
Aurora police — as well as law enforcement agencies around the state — are planning to crack down on drunk driving during Super Bowl weekend.
In Aurora, Officer Al Graham of the department’s traffic section said that while there aren’t any DUI checkpoints planned for the weekend, there will be extra officers looking for drunk drivers.
Those “saturation patrols” start Friday and continue through Monday, he said.
While police are expecting a busy weekend, Graham said whether the Broncos are playing in the big game or not doesn’t have much affect on the number of drunk drivers police come across.
“The Super Bowl is always a very busy time,” Graham said.
During last year’s Super Bowl weekend, police around the state nabbed 85 drunk drivers, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.
CDOT’s 2015 records don’t include Aurora, but in 2014, when the Broncos last played in the Super Bowl and when Aurora was included, police around the state made more than 325 DUI arrests during the Super Bowl weekend. Aurora police made 34 DUI arrests across those four days, including 16 on Super Bowl Sunday.
The most-recent DUI crackdown came on New Year’s weekend, when police around Colorado nabbed almost 400 drunk drivers during the six-day crackdown. During that stretch, Aurora police made 58 DUI arrests, according to CDOT, including 19 on New Year’s Day.
Graham said it’s important that drivers opt to use a designated driver, a cab, or one of the many ride-share options they have available to them.
“It’s all about safety in the end,” he said.
While many would rather be at home watching the game, Graham said the officers who look for drunk drivers during these sorts of crackdowns don’t mind missing it.
“Regardless of when it is we don’t ever have trouble finding people to come and work it,” he said.