The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) and statewide law enforcement agencies are asking Colorado drivers to "Make the Call" to a sober designated driver this St. Patrick's Day and every day. The Colorado State Patrol and more than 70 law enforcement agencies are conducting a Heat Is On crackdown beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, March 11 and continuing through 3 a.m. on Friday, March 18.Last year, one person was killed in an alcohol-related crash during the St. Patrick's Day enforcement period in Colorado, and law enforcement agencies made 686 DUI arrests statewide.
"St. Patrick's Day is a popular time to go out with friends, and the local bars and pubs are popular places to go on this particular holiday," said Col. James Wolfinbarger, chief of the Colorado State Patrol. "But before the first pint of beer is poured, plan ahead by arranging a safe and sober ride home. Making a call to a friend or a taxi cab is much easier than making the phone call from jail. It's important to understand that it may only take a couple of drinks for you to become too impaired to drive, so don't take chances. Get a designated driver."
To help people understand how little alcohol it takes to become impaired, CDOT is expanding the availability of its free R-U-Buzzed smartphone app, which is now available for Android phones. The rise in popularity of Android phones, as well as the overwhelming success of the iPhone app launched in late 2009, led CDOT to create the Android app. The R-U-Buzzed app has been downloaded more than 170,000 times from the Apple App Store. The R-U-Buzzed app allows users to estimate their estimated blood alcohol concentration (BAC) based on how many drinks they have consumed, how long they have been drinking, and their gender. The app suggests that having a sober driver is the only safe option, and it will even provide the phone number of a local cab company with just a tap of the screen.
"We're excited to have the R-U-Buzzed App available on the Android platform just in time for St. Patrick's Day. We hope it will provide a great tool to an even broader audience and encourage people to designate a sober driver," said Pamela Hutton, CDOT governor's representative for highway safety. "But we're also reminding people that whether they use the app, a standard cell phone or old fashioned rotary phone, you can always 'make the call' to a sober driver."
A visual reminder to "Make the Call" will be on display at the Denver and Colorado Springs St. Patrick's Day parades on Saturday. In Denver, a large phone display on a float will encourage people to download the R-U-Buzzed app or call a sober designated driver and a Colorado State Patrol cruiser will remind them of the DUI enforcement. In Colorado Springs, CDOT is teaming up with Designated Driver of Colorado Springs with an inflatable 8-foot smartphone urging St. Patrick's Day revelers to "Make the Call." There will also be teams of people visiting Irish pubs and bars to remind drinkers to designate a sober driver or take public transportation.
Colorado State Patrol and the following police and sheriffs' departments have increased patrols and saturations patrols planned:
Alamosa County SO
Alamosa PD
Arapahoe County SO
Arvada PD
Aspen PD
Auraria Campus PD
Aurora PD
Avon PD
Basalt PD
Boulder County SO
Boulder PD
Brighton PD
Broomfield PD
Castle Rock PD
Colorado Springs PD
Commerce City PD
Cortez PD
Crested Butte MO
Denver PD
Dillon PD
Douglas County SO
Edgewater PD
El Paso County SO
Erie PD
Evans PD
Firestone PD
Fort Collins PD
Fort Morgan PD
Fountain PD
Fraser/Winter Park PD
Frederick PD
Fremont County SO
Gilcrest PD
Gilpin County SO
Glenwood Springs PD
Golden PD
Grand Junction PD
Greenwood Village PD
Gunnison PD
Idaho Springs PD
Jefferson County SO
Kiowa County SO
Lafayette PD
Lakewood PD
Larimer County SO
Littleton PD
Logan County SO
Lone Tree PD
Longmont PD
Loveland PD
Mancos MO
Manzanola PD
Mesa County SO
Montezuma County SO
Montrose PD
Northglenn PD
Parker PD
Pitkin County SO
Pueblo County SO
Saguache County SO
Snowmass Village PD
Steamboat Springs PD
Sterling PD
Summit County SO
Walsenburg PD
Washington County SO
Weld County SO
Westminster PD
Wheat Ridge PD
Woodland Park PD
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