This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As the spirit of Halloween arrives, along with spirits of the intoxicating variety, Utah officers want to remind bar patrons what drunken driving could cost them.
Bar restrooms along the Wasatch Front — including SkySLC, a downtown Salt Lake City bar on Pierpont Avenue — will be decorated to remind patrons of the inside of a jail cell. The Utah Highway Safety Office hopes the decor reminds people about "the very real and often life-altering consequences of driving under the influence," according to a news release.
Law enforcement will also be increasing patrols and DUI checkpoints this week.
"October continues to be an especially frightening month and not just because it's Halloween," the release reads. "From 2005 to 2014, October ranks as the most deadly month of the year for deaths involving drunk driving."
During last Halloween's DUI blitz, the Utah Highway Patrol arrested 33 suspected drunken drivers in Salt Lake County alone. That's about five times as many as troopers would make in the county on a typical weekend.
The autumn holiday is a particularly dangerous time due to trick or treaters running around in the dark.
Besides checkpoints, the Unified Police Department tries to put more officers on the streets during Halloween, "being seen and being available to help," said Lt. Lex Bell.
In a statement, Kristy Rigby, director of the highway safety office, encouraged drinkers to plan ahead and call a cab or designate a sober driver.
Deaths from drunken driving in Utah nearly doubled last year — rising from 23 to 45. That's the highest in more than a decade, according to an annual report on driving under the influence given last week to the Legislature by the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice.
Punishment for DUI include — but is not limited to — jail time, fees and penalties, license suspension and having an ignition interlock device installed in the vehicle.
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