WSP Arrested 35 Suspected DUI Drivers Over Labor Day Weekend

OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington State Patrol says its troopers arrested 35 drivers suspected of impaired driving this holiday weekend.

While even a single impaired driver can spell disaster on our roads, that is a relatively low number compared with recent years: WSP says it arrested 51 impaired drivers the same weekend in 2020 and 49 in 2019.

That the number lowered is a little surprising, considering that more drivers were out on the roads this Labor Day than last year, when more pandemic restrictions were still in place. AAA estimates that around 1 million Washingtonians traveled over the holiday weekend, most of whom did so by car.

"You can't drive safely if you're impaired," WSP said in a statement. "That's why it's illegal everywhere in America to drive under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, opioids, methamphetamines, or any potentially impairing drug-prescribed or over the counter."

The bulk of the 35 arrests took place in Thurston and Pierce Counties.

According to WSP data, on average, 250 people die every year from crashes linked to impaired driving in Washington. A recent report found our state had the eighth-highest rate of DUI arrests in the nation in 2018, with 430.2 DUI-related arrests per 100,000 people.