Metro Police put Super Bowl partiers on notice

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005 | 9:35 a.m.

For the second year in a row, Metro Police will be looking for drunken drivers on Super Bowl Sunday and on the two days preceding the big game, when football fans often have pre-parties to gear up for the competition.

Last year's efforts paid off, Capt. Vinnie Cannito of Metro's Transportation Safety Bureau said, so the department decided to continue the effort.

On a typical night traffic officers make 10 to 15 DUI arrests, but on Super Bowl Sunday 2004, there were 30 drunken driving arrests.

This Friday and Saturday, a mobile DUI van will be roving the valley, Cannito said. The van allows police to go through the entire processing system wherever they pull over suspected drunken drivers.

Then on Sunday, fixed DUI checkpoints will be set up at a number of undisclosed locations.

"It's pretty well-known that during the Super Bowl a lot of drinking takes place," Cannito said. "There's nothing wrong with that. You can enjoy it, but enjoy it responsibly and don't drink and drive."

Whittlesea Bell Transportation, a Las Vegas-based transportation company, is offering free taxi rides from 5 p.m. until midnight on Super Bowl Sunday to anyone. To catch a free ride call this special local hotline number: 456-STOP.

"Drivers should be smart and call us for a ride so we can prevent any drunk driving tragedies," said Brent Bell, president and CEO of Whittlesea Bell Transportation.

The department frequently ramps up anti-DUI efforts around holidays such as Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July. The sporting event efforts could be expanded to include, for example, the World Series and major soccer games.

In 2004, there were 145 people killed in vehicle collisions in Metro's jurisdiction and 45 were DUI-related. That is an increase from 2003, when 36 of Metro's 128 fatalities were related to alcohol.

Out of Metro's 30,000 collisions last year, 2,335 were DUI-related, Cannito said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the percentage of alcohol-related deaths in auto crashes on Super Bowl Sunday from 2000 to 2002 was nearly 60 percent, comparable to New Year's Eve as one of the deadliest days on America's streets.

In the past 10 years nationwide, alcohol-related crashes killed more than 155,000 people and injured nearly 5 million. At current rates, one-third of Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetimes, the traffic safety administration said.

On Monday, a week-long campaign kicked off to warn drivers not to drink and drive on Superbowl weekend.

The Congressional Stop DUI Caucus, the National Commission Against Drunk Driving, Southern Nevada law enforcement officials, the state of Nevada and local anti-drunken driving activists want to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving.

"Whether you are cheering for the Eagles or the Patriots, everyone can agree that on Super Bowl Sunday, play it safe and if you have been drinking, please do not get behind the wheel," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said. She is co-chairwoman of the Congressional Stop DUI Caucus.

The Congressional Stop DUI Caucus is a bipartisan effort to reduce drunken driving through increased public awareness and education.