Mass. State Police Report 70% More Drunk Driving Arrests

State police are crediting an increased number of sobriety checkpoints for a 70 percent rise in drunk driving arrests since 2005.

Last year, state police arrested 4,879 people for operating under the influence, compared to 2,869 in 2005.

During that time, police have increased the number of sobriety checkpoints from 14 during all of 2005 to 82 last year.

State police Colonel Mark Delaney said troopers set up sobriety checkpoints somewhere in the state nearly every Friday and Saturday night.

Police announce in advance the county where they’ll be setting up a checkpoint, but not the specific location.

Fatalities involving at least one drunk driver have dropped with the rising arrests.

There were 181 such fatalities in 2004, compared to 137 in 2006, the most recent year statistic were available.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

Topics Personal Auto Law Enforcement Massachusetts