“We worked U.S. 41 and State Road 70, areas that are known for having DUI crashes,†Miller said.
FHP did respond to 17 car accidents, issued 48 speeding tickets, 92 warnings, 34 seat-belt violations and helped 39 disabled motorists, Miller said.
The Palmetto Police Department also didn’t make any DUI arrests from Dec. 31 to Jan. 1.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office had deputies out as well during the holiday and focused most of its efforts in areas around establishments that serve alcohol, according to Sheriff Brad Steube.
They made 11 arrests for impaired drivers between New Year’s Eve and Jan. 1, according to incident reports.
One of the arrests the sheriff’s office made resulted from Manatee County Emergency Medical Services noting a vehicle driving erratically and “all over the road,†while returning from a call, according to an incident report.
The EMS activated its emergency lights, the vehicle stropped and deputies responded to the scene and conducted a DUI investigation, the report said.
Overall, FHP issued a total of 40,667 citations statewide during the Dec. 16 to Jan. 3 holiday season. Of those, 474 were for DUIs, 13,705 for speeding, 3,848 for safety belt violations and 13,260 motorist assists.
