SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Highway Patrol (UHP) troopers say they’ve seen an increase in bad driving habits since the COVID-19 pandemic began. And those habits, as well as impaired drivers, will be on their radar tonight during their St. Patrick’s Day DUI Blitz.
It’s the first time troopers will be on the streets in large numbers since the pandemic began.
Before the St. Patrick’s Day DUI Blitz begins, Troopers will take part in a briefing that will include statements from Sara Frie, a teenager who was seriously injured when a car in which she was a passenger was hit head-on by a drunk driver.
Frie’s case was highlighted recently in newly passed DUI legislation that passed into law at the Utah State Capitol.
HB47, also called Sarah’s Bill, allows a judge to deny bail and to hold a DUI suspect until trial if investigators have obtained “substantial evidence to support the charge” that the person would be a danger to the community if released.
Even though the St. Patrick’s Day DUI Blitz falls on a Wednesday this year, UHP spokesman Lt. Nick Street said that people will still drink and drive.
“We do average 22 alcohol-related crashes in the state of Utah on St. Patrick’s Day,” Street told KSL Newsradio.
And on those bad habits that UHP Troopers say they’re seeing more of? They include speeding, and fewer people wearing their seat belts.
Bottom line Utah? Slow down and buckle up.