Washington State Patrol troopers pulled over 296 suspected drunken drivers over the Labor Day weekend, the agency reported today.
Troopers got some help from the public in spotting impaired drivers. Forty-four drivers called 911 to report suspicious driving activity.
When troopers found the suspect vehicle, they arrested 19 on suspicion of drunken driving, one on suspicion of drug-related impaired driving and one on a warrant. Another four were written tickets, the State Patrol reported.
Troopers also investigated three fatalities in Okanogan, Skagit and King counties. The number was down from four during the Labor Day weekend in 2008.
296-That’s a lot of drunk drivers. This is why my wife and I usually stay home on most of these holiday week ends.
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It’s scary that out of 44 calls only 19 were accused of DUI. Thats a 43% validity… in my opinion most these that called in were wrong. Who are we to judge other people’s driving abilities. What a world when we let cameras and other so called “conerned” citizens police our world.
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Palin2012 You are looking at this the wrong way. Consider, that is 19 drunk drivers that will not kill anyone else or themselves! Lives Saved.
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Right on WSP! My wife was killed by a drunk driver going 70 in a 35, she never knew what hit her. Obviously I support your attempts to get them off the roads because they never learn a simple equation: Alcohol + Driver = Death (but it’s never the drunk who dies).
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Palin2012: The fact that 19 were arrested does not mean that the other 43% were not drunk. Be glad that 19 were arrested and taken off the roads. The 43% who were not arrested may have been driving aggressively or recklessly so would have been ticketed, but not arrested. The SP may not have been able to locate the suspected drivers because the officers were not in the immediate area soon enough or may have been tied up with an accident or other incident.
After a driver who was not only speeding, but weaving well over the lane markers on both sides and nearly wiped us out, we called 911 to report the license number of the vehicle being driven dangerously. The incident happened just south of the King County line northbound on I-5. I don’t know if the SP was able to locate the driver, if he exited the freeway at Highway 18 or Federal Way, or if he was stopped north of there. It’s not as if we have officers posted on every block.
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I agree khulsmann that 19 is better than none caught. But to what cost? Are you saying that freedom should be cast at a 43% rate? See unlike others on here I appreciate a good debate. And Like I said, I never doubted the success… what I doubt is the trade off… our freedom. Prissy people calling in just because they think they know that someone is drunk. So if you go with your view… then I should be able to phone in someone for swerving off the line to fix their mirror… i mean so the results justify the means? This is either sounding like Puyallup or 1984.
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only you can call yourself an alcoholic , see ya at the next AA meeting
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Whether we like the way the roads are policed or not there’s a positive trend. In 1982 there were 748 fatalities on the roads of Washington of which 482 (64%) were alcohol related. In 2006 total fatalities had dropped to 630 with 269 (43%) of those deaths being alcohol related. Still, 1 is too many.
Source: http://www.alcoholalert.com
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your only a danger to yourself when your on a motorcycle
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“your only a danger to yourself when your on a motorcycle”
Really? What about when someone in another car tries to avoid you and crashes? Or when your bike hits a car and you’re sent through their windshield? Or if the other person is also on a motorcycle or is a pedestrian? What about the psychological damage to bystanders from seeing someone fall off a motorcycle and die? I don’t buy it, rottenweiler. Drunk driving isn’t ok, no matter what you’re driving.
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thats it what if? in most motorcycle accidents the person that was riding usually goes home in a body bag in the person driving the car that hit him most of the time walks away.
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