The Washington State Patrol has created a permanent team of troopers to crack down on drunken driving in Snohomish County.
Starting next month, five troopers will form a squad designed to target drunken drivers. They hope to reduce the number of alcohol-related collisions in the county, state trooper Kirk Rudeen said.
They’ll have the green light to patrol city and county roads, as well as highways. The patrol will work four nights each week.
“We’re trying to be proactive,” Rudeen said. “Our job is saving lives, and we’re trying to pull these drunk drivers off the road.”
Last year, drunken drivers caused 768 accidents in the county, according to State Patrol data. There were 374 alcohol- related accidents in the county during the first half of this year.
Drunken driving is a particular problem along Highway 99 in Lynnwood and Everett, where there are more bars, said trooper Jason Bart, a member of the new unit.
The squad – composed of four troopers and a sergeant – won’t be tied down with accident investigations and other calls, Rudeen said.
The new group will allow the patrol to schedule up to 18 troopers on the road each night in Snohomish County. The extra help is coming through schedule changes, not additional staff, Rudeen said.
It’s modeled after a similar squad created three years ago in Spokane County.
Two of the six troopers in the Spokane group arrested more drunken drivers last year than any other troopers in the state, Spokane-based trooper Jeff Sevigney said.
The number of alcohol-related accidents in Spokane hasn’t changed much, but arrests are up, Sevigney said.
“As long as these troopers are willing to go out there and really go the extra mile, they’re going to be afforded the opportunity to do that,” he said.
Trooper Bart, who is stationed in Monroe, is excited to get started with the new drunken-driving patrol.
During the three years he’s worked as a trooper, Bart said he has seen drunken drivers sideswipe guardrails, plow through fences and crash into other cars.
He vividly remembers an accident on U.S. 2 last year involving a drunken driver who struck a man on a motorcycle. The motorcyclist died, Bart said.
“To get those one or two guys who are actually going to hurt somebody, it’s a motivating factor,” Bart said.
Once the unit starts, Bart hopes to double his annual average of arresting 100 drunken drivers each year.
That’s a reasonable goal, Rudeen said. The troopers in the Spokane unit average about 200 arrests per year.
“We’re really excited about this,” Rudeen said.
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