According to a press release from the Washington State Patrol, King County holiday enforcement team successfully concluded Sunday with zero fatality collisions on King County highways throughout the 2009 holiday season.
While the total number of driving under the influence arrests are still being calculated from various agencies, the state patrol reported a total of 713 DUI arrests in King County since the week of Thanksgiving, 256 arrests being from the extra holiday enforcement team patrols.
The King County team was comprised of seven additional troopers and one additional sergeant that patrolled King County Highways exclusively at night through the holidays. The team’s core mission was to enforce DUI, aggressive driving, and passenger restraint laws to prevent serious injury and fatality collisions.
This year’s team worked in conjunction with several other King County police agencies as a part the X-52 DUI patrols funded by the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. These highly visible, multi-jurisdictional patrols are one strategy to reduce fatal and serious injury collisions in Washington, which is part of the Washington Strategic Highway Safety Plan, Target Zero. The goal of Target Zero is zero traffic deaths and serious injuries in Washington State by 2030.
The only serious injury alcohol related collision on a King County Highway occurred at 12:30 p.m. Dec. 15th when a repeat DUI offender who was traveling eastbound I-90 crossed the center median at Preston and hit a westbound motorist head on. Both drivers remain hospitalized recovering from their injuries.
The following law enforcement agencies participated in X-52 DUI patrols in 2009: Algona, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Carnation-Duvall, Clyde Hill, Covington, Des Moines, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Normandy Park, North Bend, Pacific, Port of Seattle, Redmond, Sammamish, Sea-Tac, Seattle, Snoqualmie, Woodinville, and the state patrol.
Public Health- Seattle and King County chairs and staffs the King County Traffic Safety Coalition which organizes the X-52 patrols in north and east King County.
