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SALT LAKE CITY — More than 100 people were arrested by the Utah Highway Patrol for drunken driving over the extended holiday weekend.
And while the numbers are disappointing, officers are encouraged by the zero fatalities on highways and the measures taken by stores to reduce impaired drivers.
Stan's Market, a mom and pops grocery store in Kearns, trains their cashiers about alcohol sales.
"It kind of makes them know how to handle refusing a sale, and how to handle it if they have to ask for ID and people get upset," said Nora McDonald of Stan's Market.
Every cashier is required to watch a state training video on how to handle alcohol sales. Every once in a while, the cashiers have to refuse to sell to someone who appears way too drunk.
"The biggest thing is I don't want people out on the roads that are drinking," McDonald said.
I think in the back of their mind, a lot of them have never been stopped before and they assume it won't happen.
–Cpl. Todd Johnson
No one wants to see impaired drivers on the road, which is why every holiday, especially New Year's police agencies like the Utah Highway Patrol work overtime looking for DUI's.
A total of 3,739 vehicles were stopped during the statewide DUI blitz, resulting in a total of 107 arrests for impaired driving.
"I think in the back of their mind, a lot of them have never been stopped before and they assume it won't happen," said UHP Cpl. Todd Johnson.
From Dec. 28 though the end of Jan. 1, 107 drivers were arrested by UHP troopers for driving under the influence. Last year, troopers stopped 93 intoxicated drivers. Of those arrests, 31 were made by troopers in Salt Lake County, said Johnson.
Weber County had nine DUI arrests on the freeways and Davis County had seven. A DUI squad that worked between several jurisdictions, though mainly in Salt Lake County, made an additional 29 arrests, Johnson said.
Salt Lake police also arrested a total of 10 DUI drivers in their jurisdiction on New Year's Eve.
New Years Holiday Stats (Dec. 28 - Jan. 1)
| Stops | Total Contacts | Speed Warnings | Speed Cites | Non-Injury Crashes | Injury Crashes | DUI Arrests | Impounds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sect. 1 | 207 | 171 | 52 | 47 | 45 | 5 | 1 | 3 |
| Sect. 2 | 195 | 226 | 49 | 27 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 5 |
| Sect. 3 | 147 | 192 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Sect. 4 | 653 | 907 | 82 | 117 | 61 | 8 | 31 | 8 |
| Sect. 5 | 233 | 256 | 111 | 54 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Sect. 6 | 230 | 300 | 45 | 52 | 57 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Sect. 7 | 186 | 245 | 33 | 54 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Sect. 8 | 117 | 132 | 3 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Sect. 9 | 196 | 236 | 71 | 76 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Sect. 10 | 137 | 185 | 44 | 50 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Sect. 11 | 107 | 150 | 32 | 63 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sect. 12 | 221 | 265 | 63 | 99 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Sect. 13 | 321 | 378 | 154 | 71 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Sect. 14 | 251 | 289 | 40 | 140 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Sect. 15 | 114 | 130 | 12 | 51 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sect. 16 | 257 | 76 | 26 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 28 |
| Sect. 17 | 120 | 37 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Sect. 18 | 19 | 19 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Sect. 21 | 28 | 25 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| <b>Totals</b> | <b>3739</b> | <b>4219</b> | <b>857</b> | <b>1009</b> | <b>285</b> | <b>27</b> | <b>107</b> | <b>87</b> |
