The season to drink and be merry is drawing closer and local and state police are seeking funds to combat the usual increase in alcohol-related crashes during the holiday season.
There were 92 alcohol-related accidents — one fatal — in Connecticut during last year’s holiday season, according to Lt. Paul Vance, spokesman for the State Police Department.
The Greenwich Police Department looking for drunk drivers. Here an officer talks to a driver at a police DWI checkpoint.
“As the holidays approach, we see a lot more social interactions, hence more people consuming alcohol,” Vance said. “So we see a spike in alcohol-related incidents.”
The Danbury Police Department has asked the city for permission to apply for a federal grant to fund more roving patrols and DUI checkpoints starting the week before Thanksgiving.
The highest rate of alcohol-related crashes throughout the year in Danbury occur in December and January, according to Sgt. Rory DeRocco, of the Danbury traffic division. The city has received a federal grant through the state Department of Transportation for $37,000 each of the past five years and it has resulted in a 10-percent annual decrease in alcohol-related accidents, DeRocco said.
“More people are celebrating this time of year,” DeRocco said. “We just want to make sure people are responsible when operating motor vehicles and keep the highways safe.”
According to DeRocco, the grant had a direct impact on the 8-percent decrease in alcohol-related injuries and a 20-percent decline in alcohol-related accidents in Danbury between 2011 and 2013.
While Danbury police usually perform random patrols during the holiday season, the grant will allow for more manpower. Officers on patrol will be looking for any signs of impaired driving, DeRocco said.
The police department will also team with State Troop A to hold random sobriety checkpoints around the greater Danbury area. The department and state troopers set up two DUI checkpoints during last year’s holiday season.
Bethel, Conn. Police Officer William May checks the paper work of a driver that is stopped for a possible cellphone violation. Police from area departments combined forces Thursday for the third wave of the “Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other” campaign. Police set up along Route 7 near the Ridgefield/ Redding border to stop drivers violating the cellphone law, Thursday, March 27, 2014.
“It is a cooperative effort,” DeRocco said. “The grant definitely helps.”
The State Police also plan to apply for the grant to supplement existing forces during the holiday season, Vance said.
In addition to patrols and DUI checkpoints, roving unmarked police cars will be out on the highways.
“There are higher DUI arrests and accidents during the holiday season,” Vance said. “We want to be visible and stop people before they hurt someone.”
The grant will be considered at the next Danbury financing meeting in two weeks. To qualify for the DOT grant, the city will be required to pay $12,500, which is 25 percent of the total cost. The grant runs from November 2014 to September 2015.