Specifically, the state Department of Transportation says 315 drivers in the state were penalized for driving under the influence over Super Bowl weekend. We've got numbers for several metro-area communities plus comparisons to other enforcement periods below.
The good news: The arrest total between January 31 and February 3 -- a period that wrapped around the February 2 game -- is actually lower than the one for the 2013 Super Bowl, when the Broncos weren't even in the running.
Back then, 421 arrests were made, perhaps reflecting Broncos lovers' dismay that the Baltimore Ravens, who'd spoiled Denver's dreams of a championship a few weeks earlier, got the opportunity to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
Still, the decrease isn't being celebrated by those flagged this year -- and it's no surprise that the largest share of arrests took place in the franchise's hometown.
Denver led the DUI pack with forty, followed by Aurora with 34 and Colorado Springs at 21. And nearly half of the 315 overall arrests -- 148 -- took place on Super Bowl Sunday.
Preliminary reports also point to one impaired-driving fatality -- but this digit, like all the other ones, could rise as more municipalities submit their records to CDOT.
The information trickles in so slowly that, according to department spokeswoman Emily Wilfong, figures won't be finalized for months. For now, though, Super Bowl numbers are also below those racked up this past Halloween, when 386 DUI arrests were made statewide between 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 30, and 3 a.m. Monday, November 4.Even though both events were equally scary.
As for the next major CDOT enforcement period, it will take place over St. Patrick's Day Weekend, with additional enforcement in place from Friday, March 14, through Sunday, March 17. Let's hope those arrested around not-so-Super Bowl time take the opportunity to line up a designated driver now, so they don't become two-time losers.
Of course, the Broncos are now five time Super Bowl losers -- but that doesn't mean anyone else should try keeping up with them.
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
More from our News archive circa November 2013: "At least 386 DUI busts in Colorado over Halloween, final numbers will be higher."
