Colorado Summer Blitz DUI Enforcement Period Starts Friday

(CBS4) - With the official start of summer around the corner, authorities are reminding drivers that the "heat is on." Starting Friday, local agencies will team up for the annual Summer Blitz DUI Enforcement period.

The Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado State Patrol and local law enforcement agencies will increase patrols to remove impaired drivers from the road. The Summer Blitz will last until June 21.

In 2020, authorities arrested 407 impaired drivers. In June of last year, CDOT reported 20 impaired-driving fatalities in Colorado. Since the start of 2021, authorities say more than a third of all traffic deaths have involved an impaired driver.

"Summer is the season for barbeques, camping, and family vacation. It's also the time when we see a rise in impaired drivers," said Chief Matthew C. Packard, Colorado State Patrol. "Don't let your good time turn into dangerous, risk-taking behaviors. Make sure that you are sober, distraction-free, and buckled up every time you get behind the wheel."

For more information about yearly impaired-driving crashes in Colorado, click here. Information about DUI laws in Colorado can be found at NoDUIColorado.org.