New Hampshire police stopped nearly 1,700 cars, arrested dozens in sober holiday driving campaign
CONCORD, N.H. - A sober driving campaign in New Hampshire netted dozens of arrests during the holiday season, public safety officials say.
Between Dec. 13 and Jan. 1, the state's Office of Highway Safety says 56 drivers were arrested on charges that include driving while intoxicated, speeding, reckless driving and other violations.
In total, police stopped 1,690 cars and issued 1,518 warnings, in addition to 94 summonses.
The "high visibility" campaign called Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over is funded by a federal grant and aims to deter impaired driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the time around Christmas and New Year often brings a rise in drunk driving deaths, and "recent data shows December drunk driving deaths are the highest in almost 15 years." The agency says 4,561 people were killed in December drunk driving crashes.