Drunk Driving Arrests Down 10% in North Dakota in 2014

North Dakota authorities say drunken driving arrests in the state were down nearly 10 percent in 2014.

Highway Patrol Sgt. Tom Iverson told KXMB-TV about 1,700 driving under the influence arrests were made statewide last year, about 200 fewer than the year before.

He says the number of troopers in western North Dakota has almost doubled in the past five years.

And Bismarck defense attorney Justin Vinje says stricter penalties for DUI were passed in the last legislative session.

He says first-time offenders with a blood-alcohol content of 0.16 or higher can face a mandatory two days in jail. And some people are required to take part in a program called 24/7 that requires offenders to perform a breathalyzer test twice daily for an entire year.