Dane County Sheriff's deputies arrested 15 people for driving while intoxicated over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The majority of the arrests on Friday were the result of an alcohol enforcement project aimed at taking drunk drivers off the road.
According to a news release, seven of the arrests, issued for Operating While Intoxicated, were from 11 p.m. Saturday to 7 a.m. Friday. Most of the arrested citizens were first time offenders.
The Department of Transportation and Dane County Sheriff's Office targeted drunk driving as a primary concern in terms of safety,"" said Elise Schaffer, sheriff's office spokeswoman.
The project, the first of its kind, arose from a grant provided by the Department of Transportation. The grant allows deputies to work overtime in an effort to further deter drunk driving. By working overtime, the hope is that police will be able to find more offenders in the later hours of the night.
Friday's project focused on the Beltline - Highway 12; however, future overtime deployments will occur in various other Madison areas. Though it depends on where UW-Madison students travel, Schaffer said students are ""apt to come across one of these deployments sometime during the year."" Police will execute more alcohol enforcement projects through September 2009.
The primary goals of the project are to decrease incidents of drunk driving and create public awareness. Schaffer hopes the project will force people to ""think twice before they go behind the wheel when they drink.""
