Bellingham, WA sees rise in DUI incidents, prompting emphasis patrols

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - An alarming rise in impaired driving has led to more than 80 DUI arrests in Bellingham so far this year, police say. One of the latest incidents involved a taxi driver who was carrying a passenger when they became stuck on railroad tracks as a train approached.

Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy said DUI arrests in 2024 are on track to surpass last year’s total of 398.

"The only thing we know is that people are drinking and they’re choosing to drive," Murphy said.

The incident occurred on March 1 when a taxi driver misjudged a turn, causing the vehicle to become stuck on railroad tracks. "The taxi driver misjudged their turn coming out of the ferry terminal and returned too tight, which put them heading towards going off the railroad tracks," Murphy said.

Fortunately, both the passenger and the driver were able to escape the vehicle before the approaching train collided with the front end of the taxi.

"It had to be scary for both of them, particularly the passenger," Murphy said.

Murphy acknowledged the shock of the incident, noting while the majority of taxi and rideshare drivers are sober, "every now and then you get somebody who is not." The lieutenant hopes this rare occurrence won’t reflect poorly on rideshare drivers in general. "I would say most often they’re not, and this was an exception to that rule," Murphy said. 

The taxi driver was arrested for DUI and, according to jail records, was released just hours after being booked.

Driving under the influence, whether alcohol or drugs, remains a significant concern for the Bellingham Police. 

"The end result of that could very easily be the death of someone themselves or someone else," Murphy said. 

By the numbers:

Since January, Bellingham Police have made 84 DUI arrests, compared to 53 during the same time frame in 2024 and 52 in 2023. Murphy attributes this rise to more proactive policing. 

"What we are seeing in my lifetime in law enforcement is I do believe we’re seeing an increase in daytime DUIs," Murphy said. "It’s not DUI people think automatically alcohol. It’s not so. There’s a lot of people who are driving under the influence of drugs." 

Mark McKechnie, external relations director at the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, emphasized that alcohol remains the most common substance involved in impaired driving.

"It’s the most common drug," McKechnie said. "Alcohol, by far, is the most easily accessible in terms of bars, restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, liquor stores. It’s very easy to buy alcohol and obtain alcohol, so it’s no surprise that, you know, we see that move commonly on impaired driving." 

According to McKechnie, fatalities in Washington have spiked by about 80% from 2014 to 2023, with impaired driving involved in over half of these fatal crashes. "One out of every two fatalities on our roads involves an impaired driver," McKechnie said. 

This alarming trend appears to have accelerated after the COVID-19 pandemic. McKechnie explained that the number of fatalities began increasing sharply in 2020, continuing through 2023. During this time, law enforcement efforts were reduced due to public health concerns, and the number of DUI arrests plummeted by 26% between 2019 and 2022.

"There seems to be a pretty strong connection between enforcement going down and fatalities going up," McKechnie said.

DUI arrests have started to rebound, increasing by 18% from 2022 to 2024.

"The number of arrests that we actually see is a function of two things. It’s how many people are actually on the road impaired, and how many officers are out there to look for them?" McKechnie said.

Murphy agreed with the idea that the pandemic, staffing shortages, and changes in law enforcement practices contributed to the recent uptick in DUI arrests.

"One of the reasons is our staffing level is up and our officers are able to dedicate some of their unassigned time to looking for impaired drivers," Murphy said. "Another one is, I believe, that January and February have been very, very mild in their weather. So there haven’t been very many nights or times where the streets have been impassable, forcing people to stay home and not go out and drive."

What's next:

With spring break and St. Patrick’s Day approaching, Bellingham Police plan to conduct emphasis patrols to target impaired drivers.

Authorities continue to urge residents to make responsible choices and avoid getting behind the wheel while impaired.

"We want everyone else to do the right thing too," Murphy said, emphasizing that the department’s proactive efforts are aimed at saving lives. "If you’re out there driving impaired, you’re making a terrible mistake." 

The numbers of DUI arrests in Bellingham this year are on track to surpass last year’s total of 398. Murphy hopes that with continued focus on proactive policing, they can help reduce impaired driving in the city. 

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