Ahead of the big game, State Patrol beginning twenty days of DUI enforcement

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- It's a big weekend, and people are surely gathering to celebrate. The Colorado Department of Transportation is partnering up with the Colorado State Patrol anticipating more drivers who may decide to drink and drive.

"The thing is we want people to be safe, and make smart choices," says Trooper Troy Kessler with the Colorado State Patrol.

This increased enforcement will be from now until Feb. 28. Combined, this adds up to twenty straight days of elevated patrol on Colorado's roads and highways.

This weekend, last year, there were 231 DUI arrests made across the state. Overall, there were over fifteen thousand DUI arrests made in Colorado in 2023.

Colorado State Patrol says with the availability of ride-safe options, taxis, and other forms of public transportation there is no excuse to drive while under the influence.

"After consuming substances some people get behind the wheel and that's never okay and it always ends up poorly," Kessler said.

Kessler says getting a taxi is a small price to pay when the average DUI costs around 13,000 dollars in Colorado.

"On top of that, fifty bucks or so, that is nothing compared to losing your life or killing somebody and living with it," Kessler said.

Even though the legal limit for a DUI is 0.08, CSP reminds the pubic that you can still be charged with impaired driving for anything above a zero.