Traffic Supervisor Sgt. Anthony Macaranas said.
The current penalty fee for DUI is $500 in addition to court fees and a jail sentence of at least three days.
DPS estimates a $4,850 loss for any individual who gets arrested for DUI.
This includes vehicle towing and storage fee, car insurance premium fee, reckless driving fee, DUI classes, attorney’s fees, community service and missed working days.
Macaranas said DPS is doing its part in conducting sobriety checkpoints and getting the involvement of the community and the business sector in the campaign against drunk driving.
Highway safety program manager Leo Duenas said what the CNMI needs is “zero tolerance” for DUI .
“The law is in place. We need to put more effort on enforcement and increase the number of police officers on the street,” Duenas said.
In line with the drunk driving crackdown that started on Aug. 15 and ends on Sept. 7, Duenas said they have placed newspaper notices regarding DUI enforcement, checkpoints, laser enforcement, highway criminal interdiction, saturation patrol and public education on DUI.
DPS acting spokesman Jason T. Taking said a total of 114 DUI arrests were made on Saipan from January to April, and from on Tinian and Rota from January to July 2009.
There were also 26 traffic crashes and DUI-related traffic crashes as well as two alcohol-related fatalities during the same period.
