More people were arrested so far this year for driving under the influence of alcohol in the Bismarck-Mandan area than last year.

North Dakota's blood-alcohol limit was lowered from .10 to .08 in August.

And one of biggest party nights of the year has arrived.

But several law enforcement officials remain optimistic.

Mandan Deputy Police Chief Dennis Bullinger, Burleigh County Sheriff Steve Berg, Morton County Sheriff Bob Erhardt and North Dakota Highway Patrol Maj. Mark Nelson said people traditionally act responsibly on New Year's Eve night. They said extensive public education and the threat of increased patrol has taught people to designate drivers and utilize taxi services.

"Most people are making smarter choices because law enforcement is beefed up for that night," Nelson said.

Bismarck Police Sgts. Mark Buschena and Allen Nass said they have noticed the trend but still make plenty of arrests New Year's Eve.

"There's really no pattern to it," Buschena said. "It's certainly one of the traditional times people like to drink and celebrate."

Whatever the case, all agencies will be fully staffed, and the highway patrol and Bismarck police are even planning to add a couple extra men to their end-of-the-year force.

Nelson said the reason for the added force is to save lives.

There have been 103 traffic fatalities in North Dakota so far this year, and 47 of those were alcohol-related.

"Our goal is to make it through the end of the year without another fatality," he said.

And it's been a year full of arrests of people driving under the influence of alcohol.

The number of DUI arrests in Bismarck jumped from 350 in 2002 to 437 so far this year, Mandan went from 285 to 301, Burleigh County from 181 to 193 and the North Dakota Highway Patrol made 275 DUI arrests in Burleigh and Morton counties this year compared to 128 last year.

Morton County was unable to provide DUI totals for the last two years.

Officials say the new blood-alcohol limit hasn't had much of an impact on their arrest totals.

They said the average blood-alcohol levels in a majority of their DUI arrests are between .14 and .16.

To keep those numbers at their current state, the Bismarck police provided some pointers to party hosts:

Offer alternative non-alcoholic beverages.

Have food handy.

Don't force guests to drink.

Cut off alcohol to anyone already tipsy.

Have last call for alcohol about two hours before the party ends.

Make sure guests have a safe way to get home.

"If you think you will be drinking alcohol at a party or nightclub, plan to bring someone along who will be willing to do the driving," Buschena said. "Use a designated driver, take a cab or spend the night."

(Reach reporter Mike Albrecht at 250-8261 or cops@ndonline.com.)