ST JOHNS, Fla. — New Year’s Eve is a time for celebration, Americans will find themselves drinking and possibly behind the wheel.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office tells First Coast News that they’re prepared for what they say is the deadliest day in the country.

Corporal Alex Ellis with the DUI unit in St. Johns County said their team has been seeing a downward trend in DUI arrests and crashes this year and that they hope it continues.

Their DUI unit plans to patrol and bring more officers from other agencies to look out for potential drunk drivers the night of New Years Eve.

“Florida makes a DUI arrest based on your normal faculties being impaired if has nothing to do what you blow into a breathalyzer instrument or drugs in your system, we based our arrested on the performance of the field sobriety exercises so if you perform poorly on those and we deem your normal faculties are impaired you’ll be placed under arrest for DUI,” said Ellis.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, St. Johns County law enforcement agencies made 1,501 DUI arrests in 2023 and a total of 1,469 arrests in 2022. Ellis told First Coast News that these arrests led to a decrease in crashes by taking those drivers off the road.

While the numbers are down, Ellis said that he hopes this trend will reflect in the city of Jacksonville. Those arrested for DUI tend to be people in their 30s and 50s, he said.