Impaired Driving Arrests Up In Lafayette Parish; Fatal Alcohol-related Wrecks Down

Money spent to fight drunk driving in Lafayette Parish is apparently paying off.

Court services manager Kelly Mouisset heads a coalition for Lafayette Consolidated Government that got a $1.3 million grant to increase DWI patrols, starting in 2009. She says the number of arrests in Lafayette for impaired driving has risen by 933 people. 211 people were arrested in 2007 for impaired driving; 1,144 people were arrested in 2011.

Also, a report from the coalition says there were 24 fatal alcohol-related wrecks in Lafayette Parish in both 2007 and 2008. There were 16 fatal alcohol-related wrecks in 2009 and 11 fatal alcohol-related wrecks in 2010.