If you are out driving in Colorado during the season, expect to be contacted by a police officer working DUI patrol. During the holiday season, DUI enforcement and DUI checkpoints in Colorado are intensified. The last thing someone wants to ring in the New Year with is a DUI arrest, but such arrests in Colorado during New Years Eve increase every year. New Years Eve, 2010 is not expected to be any different.

Unfortunately, there will be hundreds of drunk drivers on the roads to bring in 2010. Last year, police in Colorado made 569 DUI arrests in a week span between December 30, 2008 and January 5, 2009, according to CDOT’s website. This number was noticeably larger than the DUI arrest statistics for 2008. DUI enforcement in Colorado for January 1, 2010 will be just as intense, if not more so.

The increase in DUI enforcement in Colorado is based largely on tragic fatalities and editorials in the local media and on television in 2009. The increased DUI enforcement includes additional officers patrolling traffic, and an increase of roadside DUI checkpoints at various locations around the state.

The best advice anyone can adhere to for a safe New Year’s Eve is to make alternate arrangements for transportation, and to avoid putting oneself in a dubious situation, recommends Denver DUI attorney Jay Tiftickjian. “Once alcohol is in your system, your decision making ability is impaired. Therefore, it is always best to make your transportation arrangements prior to going out for the night.”