Perhaps there were too many people on the road after celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Or maybe it was reveling in the afterglow of a Sweet 16 berth for the Jayhawks.

Whatever the cause, Kansas Highway Patrol troopers this weekend in Douglas County arrested 15 people for driving while intoxicated, Trooper Mark Engholm said.

That makes Douglas County the statewide record holder for the number of drunken-driving arrests during a KHP crackdown.

“That’s astounding, but in a way it’s also scary,” Engholm said of the number of drunken drivers nabbed. “That’s more than we arrested in the Kansas City area New Year’s Eve.”

Normally troopers conducting DUI patrols in one area arrest from three to seven drunken drivers, Engholm said.

One trooper alone was responsible for eight traffic stops and four DUI arrests, Engholm said. Rarely do individual troopers on DUI patrols make more than two arrests, he said.

Eleven troopers worked with Douglas County Sheriff’s officers in conducting DUI patrols from 11 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday. Ten of the troopers, who are assigned to the patrol’s Roving Aggressive Violations Enforcement unit (R.A.V.E.), were brought in from other counties, Engholm said.

There were five extra sheriff’s deputies assigned to a DUI patrol. They made three DUI arrests.

The number of DUI arrests in Douglas County was considered high even taking into account St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and parties thrown in conjunction with Kansas University’s play in the NCAA basketball tournament, Engholm said. He also noted that it was the beginning of spring break and many students had left the area.

The last time troopers conducted DUI patrols in Douglas County was Dec. 14, 2001. That night they made eight DUI arrests, Engholm said

During last weekend’s patrols, not all of the car stops were routine.

About 4 a.m. Sunday, an Emporia trooper was getting on the turnpike to go home after the patrols when an attendant at the east terminal gate informed him of a car that had just driven through without paying.

The trooper turned around and gave chase, finally stopping the car in North Lawrence, Engholm said. No other information about that incident was available.