Law enforcement put out the warning before the holiday party season, urging drivers not to get behind the wheel if they were drunk.
“A lot of drivers, one of the first thing things they resound when they realize when they are under arrest is, ‘I should have called a cab,’” said Omaha Police Sergeant Chuck Casey.
Omaha Police received a nearly $22,000 grant for the national “You Drink, You Drive, You Lose” campaign.
The campaign started on December 16th, and OPD ran 13 different operations.
Casey said the enforcement operations were successful with 353 citations.
Police arrested 57 people for DUI, which is up from 19 the year before.
“I attribute the increase to the officers working the grants, letting the other officers know, ‘Hey we are out here,’ instead of taking up two hours of your time,” said Casey.
During the grant they also cited 13 people for careless driving and 12 for possession of marijuana and drug equipment.
Casey said ultimately they'd prefer not to arrest anyone for DUI, but the holiday season is always busy.
“We see commercials, ads, and vehicles, they are out there, they are accessible, there are a lot of companies that offer free rides that time of year, so it is very easy to do, it is a matter of doing it.”
