39 Impaired Drivers Arrested In September: Beaverton Police

BEAVERTON, OR — Beaverton police reportedly arrested 39 people for driving under the influence in September, with 35 of those individuals providing an average blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .14 percent — nearly double the legal limit.

The Beaverton Police Department throughout 2018 has participated in the National Traffic Safety Campaign to reduce — and ultimately remove completely — impaired drivers from the city's roadways. The grant-funded increase in patrols, which the city has reportedly received annually for many years, has allowed the department to commit additional resources to the task of exclusively patrolling for impaired drivers.

Beaverton police in August reported arresting 28 impaired drivers — who also averaged a BAC of .14 percent.

(Sign up for our free daily newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Beaverton Patch)

The numbers of impaired driver arrests, according to Beaverton police spokesman Jeremy Shaw, tend to fluctuate from month to month, with September a reportedly notorious month for impaired driving incidents.

So while an increase to 39 in September may not actually reflect some dramatic uptick in the numbers of impaired drivers on Beaverton streets at any given time, it does put a spotlight on the ongoing risk of harm to innocent bystanders walking, biking, or driving unimpaired within the city.

Eight of the 39 drivers arrested for DUII in September, Shaw said, crashed their vehicles before their arrests. In August, 10 of the 28 crashed their cars, with one crash at the end of July ending fatally for the impaired driver's passenger. There were no fatal crashes involving an impaired driver in September, Shaw said.

"Drunk driving, impaired driving or buzzed driving all have the potential to claim lives and often will result in jail time," Shaw said in a statement. "The men and women of the Beaverton Police Department ask you to please use a designated driver or find another sober ride home."

Image via Shutterstock