The state noticed something about Rhinelander's drunk driving arrests and decided to fund stepped up enforcement.
Police Chief Michael Steffes says the DOT has given the city more than $17,000 to up patrols through next September....
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"...the DOT actually contacted us...they had collected statistics about accidents and traffic stop data and selected us for our population size compared to the number of vehicles(they) assumed were operating under the influence. So they gave us the grant based on that selection criteria..."
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Steffes says they will pick and choose when to have officers on overtime looking for drunk drivers...
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"....kind of the 'extra' holiday times such as St. Patrick's Day, the night before Thanksgiving, obviously nights where people are out celebrating. We would definitly encourage people to use Safe Ride Home. As always, we want to do prevention first..."
Many Oneida county establishments participate in the Safe Ride Home program where patrons get a ride home instead of getting behind the wheel.
