TREASURE VALLEY, Idaho — Idaho State Police says drunk and impaired drivers have been on the rise in the Treasure Valley. The Treasure Valley DUI Task Force aims to turn that trend around through education, awareness and enforcement.
"If you're the impaired driver, it puts yourself at risk, but you're also putting all the families and everyone else out there on the roadway at risk," said Sergeant Brandon Rowley with the Idaho State Police.
Stats from the Idaho Transportation Department show a 26% increase in alcohol-related impaired driving and a 53% increase in impaired driving deaths since 2019.
"Around the 2019 timeframe, North Idaho started up a DUI Task Force because they became labeled the drunkest area in Idaho. So they created the North Idaho DUI Task Force and significantly lowered their numbers," said Rowley.
Rowley spearheaded the creation of the Treasure Valley DUI Task Force.
"Seeing our numbers and our fatality and injury crashes increase down here, I brought the same model that was working up there down here, and we've been operating under that since October of last year," said Rowley.
The task force aims to ensure nearly every police agency in the valley is on the same page when it comes to spotting impaired drivers by holding briefings and creating enforcement plans ahead of DUI enforcement weekends. But they also hope to educate the community through awareness events and presentations.
"So the Treasure Valley DUI Task Force is founded on education, awareness, and enforcement — specifically in that order," says Rowley.
A recent deployment of the Treasure Valley DUI Task Force was on Super Bowl weekend, leading to 41 DUI arrests in 30 hours, according to ITD.
"There's options that are out there, and that's what we want people to utilize. We don't want people to drive drunk or impaired on any type of substance," says Rowley.
The Task Force's next enforcement weekend will be near St. Patrick's Day.
