Surprisingly Low Number of DUIs in Missoula Over St. Patrick’s Day Weekend
Over the St. Patrick’s Day weekend, the Montana Highway Patrol made 51 DUI arrests statewide, but only three of those came from Missoula County. Detective Kenny White from the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office reported even lower numbers locally.
"The Sheriff's office only had one DUI, it was a misdemeanor over the weekend. That number is below what we expected so, I suspect that's a good thing," White said.
Missoula Police made the most DUI arrests, but according to Police Public Information officer Travis Welsh, there were no more DUIs than on an average weekend in Missoula.
"It was about average for a weekend, for any given weekend actually," Welsh said. "Missoula Police Department made seven arrests for driving while intoxicated over the weekend, all misdemeanors."
The low number of DUIs is a surprise to many as St. Patrick’s Day is well known as a drinking holiday. This weekend was expected to have a high number of DUIs particularly because the holiday fell on a Saturday this year, and police had extra patrols searching for DUI offenders.