March 2012 Archives

It looks like the DUI Court program of Maricopa County is effective. So says a study conducted last year by the National Highway Transport Safety Administration. The study helped the NHTSA refine its Ten Guiding Principles for DUI Courts.

The study aimed to evaluate the concept of using specialized DUI courts. Maricopa County’s DUI court was chosen as the test case because it provided an early record of the basic and essential elements used in current DUI courts.

What happens when a visitor from a foreign land is arrested for a DUI in Arizona?

The exact same thing that happens to a local resident. He gets booked. Just ask Dale Clifford Green of Alberta, Canada.

Judd Herberger, the son of the late Phoenix philanthropists Robert and Katherine Herberger, is doing jail time for driving under the influence.

Judd is no entitled teenager son of wealthy socialites. Rather, at 69-years-old, he will be facing four months in prison and three years of supervised probation, reports Fox News.

Over the course of last weekend’s St. Patrick’s Day weekend festivities, Peoria police were cracking down on drunk drivers. Fifty people were arrested in the West Valley last weekend, after Peoria police and a DUI task force set out to catch those driving under the influence, reports The Arizona Republic.

The task force was operated in conjunction with several other West Valley police departments. There was also a task force in effect in the East Valley, with Tempe and Chandler Police out on the prowl for DUI offenders.

Wine aficionados, be prepared! Your drinks may just get costlier after November. An alcohol tax may be coming soon to a bar near you.

The State of Arizona dished out $1.3 billion last year on alcohol and DUI related issues, reports Fox News. Now, an organization called Pennies for Prevention is looking to get some of that money back into Arizona’s pockets by imposing an alcohol tax.

The Loop 101 freeway in Scottsdale was blocked early Friday morning due to a crash involving two potentially-impaired drivers; police were called to handle a seven-car pileup in the southbound lanes.

The crash occurred at 3 a.m. on the southbound Loop 101 Pima Freeway at Indian Bend Road, and the incident caused plenty of headaches for early morning commuters.

It's St. Patrick's Day this weekend and Phoenix pubs are getting ready. The St. Patrick's Day Parade & Faire is taking place in Phoenix this weekend on Saturday, March 17, at 10 a.m.

The parade starts at Sheridan and Third streets and will finish at Margaret T. Hance Park at 1134 N. Central Ave.

The fair will take place immediately after the parade. And while admission to the parade is fee, the admission to the fair is $8-$10 for anyone over the age of 12.

The men in blue aren’t immune to the law. A Phoenix cop was arrested on March 4 for driving while intoxicated, reports Fox 10.

And get this— he had a kid in the car with him.

The officer, Brian Gentry, was pulled over after the Subway Fresh Fit 500 race of the NASCAR Spring Cup Series at the Phoenix International Raceway. He was stopped by a Goodyear detective who was working off-duty with MCSO at the intersection of South Estrella Parkway and West Vineyard Road, reports The Arizona Republic.

The county cops then took over and gave Gentry a breath test and a blood test.

Garrett Steven Meyer, 24, of Sun City, Calif. was arrested on charges of reckless manslaughter and criminal damage after a collision on Loop 101 that resulted in the death of a 62-year-old Phoenix woman, reports The Arizona Republic.

The woman, Markella Benetos of Phoenix, was ejected from her Nissan SUV when Meyer’s car rear-ended hers just after 3 a.m. on March 10.

Drivers of off-highway vehicles in Arizona need to keep an eye out for the Arizona Game and Fish Department. The Game and Fish Department is cracking down on DUIs and OUIs.

The Game and Fish Department is now using breath-testing equipment to help determine if drivers of OHVs are driving under the influence. They recently received a $4,000 grant and as a result, invested in eight devices to use across the state.

Arizona will not be implementing any "texting while driving" laws in the near future.

On March 5, the state House voted 31-28 against legislation banning texting while driving, reports the East Valley Tribune.

It's a known fact that texting while driving causes accidents and in a state with stringent drinking while driving laws, it comes as a surprise that the state's legislators would not allow such a law to pass.

Bad news for Colorado Rockies fans. Pitcher Alex White learned the hard way not to drink and drive in the Grand Canyon State. White was arrested on March 3 on drunken driving charges, reports UPI.com.

White was stationed in Arizona for spring training and was arrested at 9:15 p.m. on Saturday night, after a traffic stop by a Scottsdale Police officer. The stop, Sports Illustrated reports, was not based on any telltale signs of drunk driving but rather, on the fact that White was driving a car that had dealer tags on it.

In a rather amusing story out of Tuba City, one cop managed to simultaneously bust two people for DUI when the couple switched seats to avoid the DUI charge before getting pulled over, reports Arizona Daily Sun. They must call this the legendary pullover double-play (just in time for Spring training).

The hilarious double DUI arrest took place after a police officer says he clearly watched a 49-year-old man and 39-year-old woman switch seats as he approached, though neither admitted it. Initially, the woman was the driver, but when the officer reached the car, he found that the man was in the driver's seat.