This holiday season, police, sheriff and CHP will be out in force cracking down on drunk drivers throughout the region with aggressive Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement. Through January 1, state and local law enforcement will be watching for drunk drivers to help keep roads safe for holiday travelers.
The Avoid the 18 DUI Task Force has plans in place for two DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoints, 12 local roving DUI Saturation Patrols and two DUI Warrant/Probation Sweeps.
“You‘ll see us making lots of stops during this highly visible enforcement period and if we suspect anyone is driving while intoxicated, officers will show zero tolerance for drunk driving,” said Visalia Police Department Sergeant Chris McLain.
The following will also be conducting DUI Checkpoints and Saturation patrols throughout this mobilization period: Avenal Police Department, Corcoran Police Department, Exeter Police Department, Farmersville Police Department, Hanford Police Department, Kings County Sheriff‘s Department, Tulare Police Department, Woodlake Police Department and California Highway Patrol.
Data shows that the holiday season is a particularly deadly time due to the increased number of drunk drivers on the roads, and every law enforcement agency in the county is prepared to stop and arrest any drunk driver they see to keep roads safe.
Nationally in the four years from 2007 to 2011, there were 4,169 people killed during the month of December in crashes that involved drivers with Blood Alcohol Concentrations of .08% or higher. In California during those same five Decembers, 505 were killed and thousands seriously injured.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 32,367 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes across the nation in 2011, and 31 percent (9,878) of those fatalities occurred in drunk-driving-related crashes. Californians witnessed at total of 2,835 deaths with 774 killed in DUI crashes on their streets and highways.
Drunk drivers often face jail time, the loss of their driver licenses, higher insurance rates and dozens of other expenses ranging from attorney fees, court costs, car towing and repairs, to lost wages due to time off from work. Even worse, a drunk driver can cause a traffic crash that claims someone else’s life, or their own.
Please follow these tips to keep the holidays safe and happy:
- Even one drink can impair your judgment and increase the risk of getting arrested for driving drunk—or worse, the risk of having a crash while driving.
- If you will be drinking, do not plan on driving. Plan ahead; designate a sober driver before the party begins.
- If you have been drinking, do not drive. Call a taxi, phone a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
- Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.