Tonight, the streets of Benton will be overrun with monsters, princesses, space aliens, pirates and ghosts. Halloween is a favorite of every child, it seems, as they go door to door trick-or-treating.
It’s also a favorite night for young adults to celebrate. In many cases, they go to parties and bars, dressing themselves up in bizarre and funny ways. And Halloween – especially when it falls on a Friday – is a favored night for extra police patrols to scour Marshall County streets looking for drunken drivers.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the three top holidays on which college freshmen are most likely to drink alcohol to excess are Halloween, New Year’s Eve and St. Patrick’s Day.
Nearly half of all young adults ages 18 to 24 make plans to attend a Halloween party, according to Harris polls. And 37 percent of adults 25 to 34 years old plan to do the same. Law enforcement agencies know this as well as anyone.
That’s why they make their plans, too. Those plans typically include enhanced patrols that are looking for motorists going too fast, going too slow, having trouble maintaining their lanes, and so on.
When the police lights go on, it can mean a DUI arrest, which can in turn result in everything from loss of your driver’s license to jail time, as well as fines, fees, auto insurance premium spikes and more.
If your Halloween ends with a DUI arrest, you can discuss your legal options with an attorney experienced in drunk driving defense.
