The Detroit News Jail Alternatives for Michigan Services workers Michelle Foster, left, and Larry Zinberg, right, check a breath alcohol test in a special session Friday night. Police agencies flooded roads with extra staff as the Year 2000 dawned, but reported relatively few drunken driving or other alcohol-related arrests. Mike McCabe of the Oakland County Sheriff's Department, which picked up eight people for drunken driving Friday night and Saturday morning. The Macomb County Sheriff's Department made 11 drunken driving arrests. Some agencies did not release tallies.
Police consider alcohol a factor in at least one Metro Detroit death.
Police believe the man was leaving a New Year's Eve concert by Metallica and Ted Nugent at the Pontiac Silverdome and had been drinking when he walked into the roadway, Heath said. The driver was not charged, but Auburn Hills police arrested six others for drunken driving during the night. Auburn Hills was the exception as most Metro Detroit police agencies reported a quiet New Year's Eve after preparing for possible mayhem. Dana Welch of the Royal Oak Police Department. The program provided rides for more than 800 Metro Detroiters Friday night and early Saturday morning, down from more than 1,000 people last year, said Carole Ravicchio, president of MADD of Oakland County.