TAMPA, Fla. — Twenty drivers were jailed on DUI charges over Halloween weekend after the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office ran a countywide impaired-driving sweep it called Operation Ghost Patrol across Tampa and the rest of the county.
Deputies pulled over 219 vehicles during the push and wrote 19 traffic tickets on top of the 20 DUI arrests, according to totals the agency released Monday. The extra patrols were aimed at protecting the children, parents and other drivers who crowd neighborhood streets on the holiday.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said people who chose to drive impaired while so many kids were out trick-or-treating ended up under arrest, and that the operation pulled those drivers off the road before anyone was hurt.
Those arrested now face a process that state law makes costly. Under Florida rules, any DUI conviction brings a license revocation of at least 180 days, and fines run from $500 to $5,000 along with required DUI school. Other possible penalties include jail, probation, hours of community service and a breath-test lock installed on the vehicle.
Drivers who decline a required roadside test when they are arrested lose their license automatically for a year, and a DUI conviction stays on a Florida driving record for 75 years, according to the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The department also notes that impairment from drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter medicine, is treated the same as impairment from alcohol.
The sheriff’s office is urging residents heading to future celebrations to line up a sober driver or book a rideshare before the night starts. Deputies said the focus on impaired driving continues year-round across the county.
Section: More Tampa FL crime news
Filed under: Tampa FL Traffic News
