LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As Louisville welcomes in 2022, police departments in the Metro are putting extra attention toward keeping drunk drivers off the road.
The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) said its traffic unit will be out in 'full force' on Friday night into the early morning hours, along with additional officers outside the unit patrolling, to watch for those driving under the influence.
One Kentucky statistic shows 181 deaths in the state in 2020 were related to drunk driving. Kentucky State Police (KSP) data show 607 collisions this year where drinking was suspected, leading to 22 total deaths reported by the department.
It's a time when deadly car accidents, in general, are happening more often in Louisville. LMPD data show record breaking increases over the last two years.
It can be even more disheartening when you realize LMPD along with five other Metro area police departments made a total of 862 DUI arrests through Dec. 11 of this year alone.
To top it off, over the last five years across Kentucky, LMPD says 241 injuries and 13 deaths have resulted from impaired-driving related crashes during the holiday season.
"Which is sad because it shouldn't be occurring at all," St. Matthews Police Chief Barry Wilkerson said.
Chief Wilkerson said it's an issue that typically gets worse around this time of year. He said compared to 2020 -- when more folks were staying home -- his department has seen almost double the instances of DUI.
"That is one of the hot spot areas that we do patrol: Our bar district area," he said.
Police are urging residents to make a plan prior to heading out for New Year's celebrations, and to understand there are more resources now than ever before to get home safely like Lyft and Uber.
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