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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Police officers rolled out their holiday "3D" blitz Friday, warning drivers of a zero-tolerance policy on drunk, drugged and distracted driving.
Dec. 11 will mark the 2,000th day without a DUI-related death in Cottonwood Heights, and officers were poised to preserve the streak heading into the weekend.
"We've been free from a fatal DUI accident for the last 1,979 days, and we think that's extremely significant," police detective Brad Bailey said, speaking for the Cottonwood Heights Fraternal Order of Police.
Police attribute the streak to the city's tough stance on impaired driving, with hundreds of arrests logged over the past several years.
Increased enforcement efforts led to 309 arrests from September 2011 to August 2012, a high for the department. Arrests have decreased since, with 162 arrests between September 2014 and August 2015.
Bailey attributed that decline to the city's spreading reputation.
"People are aware if they drive drunk in Cottonwood Heights, there's a high likelihood they will be arrested," he said.
The city hasn't always been DUI death-free. There were 4 DUI-related fatalities within 20 months of Cottonwood Heights Police Department becoming operational in September 2008.
"I remember all of them, all four of them," said Sgt. Scott Peck, while patrolling Friday afternoon. "When those things happened, we kind of ramped it up and pushed a little harder and worked more shifts."
Police also clamped down on the city's trouble spots.
"When we first started our agency, Wasatch [Blvd.] was kind of out of control," Peck said. "It wasn't uncommon to get cars 80, 85 miles an hour at two in the morning."
As officers patrol for impaired drivers this holiday season, Peck said they'll be looking for patterns.
"You're watching the way that that wheel tracks with the double yellow, and you're watching whether he crosses the fog line or the white line," Peck said, offering examples while driving behind a pickup truck. "It's constantly critiquing every single car and everything they do."
Art Brown, with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said he supported Cottonwood Heights' efforts.
"When they talk about their numbers here, it represents more than just numbers, I'm sorry, to me it represents people who will be able to have all of their families home for the holidays and for other times of the year," Brown said. "If you're impaired and have a drink, find another way home."
