Pennsylvania State Police reported Tuesday that they made a record 16,900 drunken driving arrests last year, their eighth consecutive record-breaking year for DUI busts.

At the same time, alcohol-related crash fatalities dropped to 141, a decline of 14 percent, and alcohol-related crashes investigated by state police declined about 1 percent, to 4,625.

"It's clear that our efforts to keep impaired drivers off our roads in Pennsylvania are having a positive impact," police Commissioner Col. Frank E. Pawlowski said. "Our troopers are helping to save lives by cracking down hard on those who drink and drive."

The 16,900 arrests in 2009 represented a 4 percent increase over the 16,156 arrests in 2008, state police reported.

Col. Pawlowski said expansion of a drug recognition expert program and another program called Operation Nighthawk, which trains police to spot DUI motorists, fueled the department's enforcement success.

The drug program trains troopers and municipal police officers to identify drivers under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs and other substances. In the past, some of those suspects eluded prosecution because Breathalyzer tests did not detect alcohol.

In Operation Nighthawk, a group of 40 to 50 state and municipal police officers gather at 6 p.m. on a Friday for about five hours of intensive training. Afterward, they go on roving patrols, state police spokesman Jack Lewis said.

Police made 61 DUI arrests, 10 underage drinking arrests and seven drug arrests in an Operation Nighthawk program last month in Berks County. One or two more programs will be conducted this year, Col. Pawlowski said.

Mr. Lewis said the continuing rise in arrests likely stems from more enforcement rather than an increase in people driving while intoxicated. The decline in crashes and fatalities was a "good sign," he said.

"There's definitely more focus on DUI than there was even 10 years ago.

"I think we're making a dent, but it's definitely still a problem in Pennsylvania and nationwide," Mr. Lewis said.

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