Late Afternoon Drunken Driving Arrests on the Rise

Late afternoon and early evening drunken driving arrests kept officers busy in the early months of 2011.

Lieutenant Dale P. Gramley said that lately, he's noticed significant upswing in afternoon DUI arrests during January and February.

The department’s third shift, which begins at 4 p.m. and ends at midnight, traditionally averages between four and eight DUI arrests each month.  But in January motorists racked up 14 DUI arrests during that shift.

“It was really unusual for our shift to have 14 DUIs,” Gramley said. “We didn’t have any major holidays, which typically lead to an increase in DUI arrests.”

DUI arrests are often much higher during the summer months, likely due to the abundance of holiday celebrations -- the Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Memorial Day.

Third shift officers arrested nine motorists for driving under the influence in February as well, continuing the anomaly. Typically, most DUI arrests happen during the first shift – between midnight and 8 a.m. In January, the Cuyahoga Falls police department only caught four impaired motorists during that timeframe.

“One of the easiest ways to detect an intoxicated motorist is the smell,” Gramley stated.

If an officer suspects a motorist is impaired, the officer will conduct a standard field sobriety test (SFST). The SFST is a series of three tests – the horizontal gaze nystagmus (involuntary eye movement), the walk-and-turn, and the one-leg stand -- administered by the officer to determine if there is cause for arrest. Officers also utilize breathalyzers, devices that determine the subject’s blood alcohol content (BAC). The legal BAC limit in the state of Ohio is .08 for general motorists and .02 for commercial licensed drivers.

Gramley credits the experience of the officers on the force when it comes to keeping the streets safe for travel.

“Our officers have seen a lot of intoxicated people over the years, and have the experience to recognize if a motorist is under the influence.”