St. Patrick’s Day, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Eve are the biggest nights for drunk driving arrests, so State Police are getting ready for one of their busiest nights of the year.
Authorities plan to increase patrols on the road by 50 percent on New Year’s Eve, and by about 30 percent through the rest of the weekend.
State police Captain John Allen says the overall number of impaired driving incidents dropped in 2015, but arrests still topped 500.
“This time of year we usually see a spike in those numbers,” said Allen. “But I think our efforts are working, and I think people are starting to realize that it’s a serious offense.”
In Providence, for the second year in a row, members of the local firefighters union will offer free rides to New Year’s revelers who’ve imbibed a bit too much. The service is limited to destinations within Providence city limits.