The term “Winter Blitz” is currently being referenced in many Colorado media outlets. That might reasonably sound like an all-out effort by marketers to lure state residents into shopping centers to scarf up the holiday season’s remaining inventory. An exciting limited-time-only offer for a ski vacation might alternatively come to mind.
In fact, the blitz is something altogether different. It actually features law enforcement agents.
Lots of them. All across the state.
And their focus is perhaps you.
If it is, you’ve got something to worry about, especially if you had a drink or two prior to interacting with any police officers or state troopers on a Colorado roadway. The Blitz is the first of 15 specified DUI enforcement crackdowns conducted each year under the auspices of the state’s Department of Transportation.
Collectively, those many campaigns are all part of the notable Heat Is On initiative. The totaled-up numbers relevant to drunk driving arrests made during all the crackdowns last year are impressive.
Here’s one: On an “average” enforcement day in 2018, 52 Colorado motorists were pulled over and arrested on drunk driving charges. The total number of Heat-linked DUI arrests made during the year reached almost 10,000.
As noted, the Blitz annually kicks off that year-long gargantuan effort. The enforcement period commenced last Friday and is scheduled to run through January 28. Blitz stops across Colorado in early 2018 yielded a whopping 608 arrests on impaired-driving charges.
Colorado drivers obviously need to take due care at all times when behind the wheel. Recurring DUI crackdowns like the Blitz serve as reminders that law enforcers are always nearby and ready to interact closely with motorists when they see a reasonable cause to stop them.