FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock (714) 904-7042/Gail Krause, (714) 647-1840

Halloween Revelers Beware: The DUI Task Force is Cracking Down on Drunk Drivers

SANTA ANA, CA (October 30, 2013) – This Halloween the Orange County Sheriff’s Department will crack down on drunk and drugged drivers throughout the county with an aggressive Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement effort. The ‘Avoid the 13’ DUI Task Force is giving a warning to all partygoers – keep the party off the road.

The ‘Avoid the 13’ DUI Task Force will be deploying additional patrols this Thursday, October 31st in addition to routine patrols already scheduled to stop and arrest alcohol or drug-impaired drivers. Halloween is one of the deadliest holidays of the year on our roadways. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 2007-2011, 52 percent of all national fatalities occurring on Halloween night involved a drunk driver. Males ages 21-34 comprised almost half of all drunk drivers who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide during the 2011 Halloween period. It is the deadliest night for child pedestrians the entire year.

“If you celebrate with alcohol, you don’t belong behind the wheel,” said Sergeant Yvonne Shull of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Bureau. “A sober and safe ride after the party is the best treat you can give yourself and everyone else on the road this Halloween.”

To keep safe this Halloween, the ‘Avoid the 13’ DUI Task Force recommends these tips:

• Before the Halloween festivities begin, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night.
• Always designate a sober driver.
• If you are impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
• Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home.
• Use your community’s sober ride program.
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going. If you think you have to ask if they are okay to drive, you already know they’re not.

Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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