Four Washtenaw County police agencies will be stepping up their search for drunken drivers during Super Bowl weekend as part of a special enforcement period.
The Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office, University of Michigan Police, Pittsfield Township Department of Public Safety and Saline Police Department will conduct the increased enforcement of drunken driving laws from Friday until Sunday night.
Last year, 166 people were arrested in Michigan for drunken driving on Super Bowl Sunday in 2012, the Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Fifty-two of those people were considered super drunk — driving with a blood alcohol level of .17 percent or higher — and two people died in traffic crashes involving alcohol in the state.
In Washtenaw County, officers will work 150 hours on the special drunken driving enforcement. The extra time is paid for with federal traffic safety funds, administered by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning.
In Michigan, it's illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or higher.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.