Washington State Patrol troopers in Kitsap County made two additional DUI arrests stemming from cell phone callers Sept. 5.

This follows two DUI arrests the prior weekend which also originated from cell phone callers.

The first arrest Sept. 5 occurred just after 5 p.m. with reports of erratic driving southbound on State Route 3 between Bremerton and Gorst. Based on information from the caller who reported the driver drinking beer and making unsafe lane changes, troopers were able to overtake the vehicle on West Belfair Valley Road and it was stopped about 1 mile south of Gorst. The driver, a 55-year-old Puyallup woman, was arrested for DUI and booked into the Kitsap County Jail.

The second arrest occurred just before midnight after WSP received reports of erratic lane travel, erratic speeds and following too close along SR 3 between Silverdale and Gorst. The vehicle was stopped along SR 16 near Anderson Hill Road east of Gorst. The driver, a 24-year-old Port Orchard resident, was arrested for DUI and booked into the Kitsap County Jail.

WSP continues to encourage motorists observing erratic or unsafe driving to report the incident using their cell phones by dialing 911, providing a direction of travel along with a description of the vehicle including the color, year, make, body style and license. The law allows the use of cell phones to report emergences; and reporting an impaired driver is an emergency. So far in 2009, WSP has received 230 reports of erratic driving in Kitsap County alone, 103 of which were contacted by WSP troopers and 50 of those resulted in DUI arrests. An additional 23 were cited for infractions.

Among the most common indicators of impaired drivers are vehicles weaving as they drive down the road, vehicles crossing onto the shoulder or into the next lane, vehicles speeding up and slowing down for no apparent reason and vehicles making abrupt lane changes without using turn signals are all common (but not exclusive) signs of impairment.