In the past three years, the most people arrested in Bismarck for driving under the influence between 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 and 7 a.m. Jan. 1 was three.

Sgt. Dwight Offerman attributes the low numbers on the "traditional party night" to people being inundated with messages about having responsible celebrations. Similarly, minor in consumption or possession arrests are no higher for the holiday than other nights, he said.

"For the most part, the public has responded very responsibly," he said.

The Bismarck Police Department, along with other area law enforcement agencies, plan to have extra officers on patrol Monday night to watch for impaired drivers and take loud party calls.

Offerman said additional officers usually are assigned to work New Year's Eve as well as the Fourth of July.

"We anticipate a higher volume of calls," he said.

Most of the calls come from loud party reports at homes, he said.

North Dakota Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Gerhart said extra troopers will be on the roads to watch for impaired drivers and seat belt violators because of an expected increase in traffic volume as the old year ends.

"Our goal is to make sure the roads are safe," he said.

Gerhart said the patrol made 1,809 DUI arrests in 2005, and 1,897 arrests in 2006. Through the end of November, 1,827 people already have been arrested for DUI, he said.

Morton County Sheriff Dave Shipman and Mandan Police Sgt. Brent Wilmeth said their respective departments each have grant money available to put one extra officer on patrol to enforce DUI laws.

Burleigh County Sheriff Pat Heinert said deputies on the shift assigned to work New Year's Eve are not allowed to take the night off, so the department will be fully staffed for the holiday. He said his department's primary concern will be people celebrating at bars in Bismarck, then driving back to their homes in the rural areas of the county.

Deputies will be on the lookout for impaired drivers, "trying to make sure everyone gets home safe and sound," Heinert said.

New Year's Eve is not necessarily a busy night for law enforcement. Offerman said people taking "alcohol consumption to the extreme" often means a busy night for officers, but some years feature lighter loads than others.

"It's not a bad night to work," he said.

Wilmeth said some years the holiday is busy, some it's not.

"You just never know until it gets here," he said.

"You just don't know for sure," Heinert agreed.

Even if the night ends up slow for law enforcement, the local taxi service expects to have its busiest night of the year.

Jerry Roberts, a dispatcher and driver for Taxi 9000, said New Year's Eve is "exceptionally busy," and the company plans to have 21 taxis on the roads as the year changes. Roberts expects about 700 calls for service; a typical Saturday night is about half that busy, he said.

Many of the people who hop in the taxis will have vouchers from the establishments of their choice. The bars purchase the vouchers from McQuade Distributing, which buys them from Taxi 9000, explained Kathy Ternes, finance manager for McQuade.

The voucher program started as a New Year's Eve initiative but now goes all year round, Ternes said. She said the company sells about 1,000 vouchers per month on average.

"We actually do a lot of them every month," she said. "It's been pretty consistent lately."

Ternes said Taxi 9000, McQuade Distributing and the 35 bars that buy the vouchers share in the cost.

"Kudos need to be given to the bars that participate," she said.

Ternes said the vouchers are personalized per bar, so a taxi driver will not take a bar's voucher at a different bar. Roberts said the vouchers can be used only to take people from the bar to their homes.

"They cannot bar hop on vouchers," he said.

Roberts recommends that people call ahead for rides on New Year's.

"Don't call at 1 o'clock for a ride to go home," he suggested.

Ternes said the voucher program started as a way to promote responsible drinking.

"We want people to drink responsibly," she said. "They should be careful when they do go out and drink."

"If you're not going to take Taxi 9000, make sure you have a designated driver," Roberts agreed.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)