518 arrested in Colorado for DUI during 10-day period

More than 500 drivers statewide were arrested during the 10-day Thanksgiving DUI enforcement period.

State Patrol said that's nearly double the 283 drivers who were arrested during the same 10-day period last year.

Of the 518 drivers arrested between Nov. 18-28, 38 arrests were by the Colorado Springs Police Department, which of city police departments was third to only Aurora and Denver for arrests made during the enforcement period.

Pueblo Police Department reported nine arrests in the same time frame.

The year is not over, yet CDOT says the state has already exceeded the amount of deaths on the road last year.

“Traffic fatalities in Colorado have already surpassed last year’s total,” said Darrell Lingk, director of the Office of Transportation Safety at CDOT. “Impaired drivers were involved in about one-third of those deaths, and CDOT is determined to continue DUI-prevention efforts, as enforcement is our most effective tool to reduce impaired driving crashes and fatalities.”

One hundred and seventy-seven people have died in Colorado in DUI-related crashes since the start of the year.

Beginning Friday, law enforcement across the state are taking part in another 10-day DUI enforcement period. If you're caught drinking and driving, you run the risk of jail time, fines or losing your license.