Arizona Department of Transportation reports that more than 380 people died in impairment-related crashes last year in Arizona.

As an effort to combat impaired driving, the Arizona Department of Liquor has been awarded a $50,000 grant by the DUI Abatement Council, which is administered by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.

In addition, they were also awarded a $96,100 grant to work on educating teenagers about the dangers of impaired driving. The goal is to reduce the number of people killed or injured in DUI crashes on Arizona highways. This grant was awarded by the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The legal drinking age in the state of Arizona is 21 years old. However, often young people bend the rules with fake IDs. Often the mindset of a teen or someone underage is that they just want to party and have a good time. However, not being responsible can have deadly consequences.

Statistics continue to show impaired drinking continues to be a big problem on Arizona roadways. Data from the Arizona Department of Transportation details more than 380 people died in impairment-related crashes in 2021. Those accidents accounted for more than 30% of deadly crashes in our state for the year.

Some of the grant funding will help fund training people at bars, concerts, colleges on how to spot a fake ID. With advanced technology now, it is very hard for someone with an untrained eye to know and spot the fake ID’s. If an underage violators is caught, they could possibly lose their licenses for six months.

The funding will also be allotted towards moving this mission to the mobile side. The departments new mobile command van comes at a good time with the many upcoming valley events such as the WM Phoenix Open and the Super Bowl

To learn more about the department’s prevention efforts, click here.