2014 Summer/Labor Day Avoid DUI campaign resulted in 793 DUI arrests

NEWS, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Lt. Jeff Hallock, 714.904.7042, JHallock@ocsd.org; Emily Osterberg, 714.647.1840, EOsterberg@ocsd.org

SUMMER/LABOR DAY AVOID DUI CAMPIGN – FINAL REPORT

SANTA ANA, Calif. (September 2, 2014) – The Summer/Labor Day Holiday DUI Campaign crackdown on drunk and/or drugged drivers has ended and resulted in a significant number of DUI arrests countywide over the past 18 days. The enforcement was part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, to save lives and make our roadways safer.

From 12:01 AM Friday, August 15, 2014 through Midnight Monday, September 1, 2014 officers representing 38 county law enforcement agencies have arrested 775 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. In 2013, 793 DUI arrests occurred during the same time period. Tragically, there was a death attributed to an impaired driver on Labor Day in Huntington Beach. Last year there were 4 alcohol and/or drug impaired related deaths during this same time. (**NOTE: These numbers are only provisional with same agencies yet to report**)

Thousands of lives could be saved each year by driving sober. In 2012 alone, there were 10,322 people killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in the United States, with 802 in California.

The Orange County DUI Task Force and thousands of law enforcement agencies around the country teamed up with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the high-visibility enforcement campaign this year. The annual effort aims to reduce drunk driving year-round. The campaign’s warning remains: ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”

Law enforcement officials will be conducting more anti-DUI efforts throughout the county and region during Halloween and again on Thanksgiving Eve before planning for the December Winter DUI Mobilization. Sheriff, Police and the CHP encourage all motorists to help make your community safer: Report Drunk Drivers – Call 911!

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

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