O.C. Sheriff announces Memorial Day weekend DUI crackdown

SHERIFF-CORONER DEPARTMENT, COUNTY OF ORANGE, CALIFORNIA
NEWS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gail Krause, (714) 623-8940

Memorial Day Weekend DUI Crackdown
High Visibility DUI Campaign Set for Holiday Weekend

SANTA ANA, CA – (May 23, 2013) – The Orange County DUI Task Force is deploying officers this holiday weekend at DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols countywide to arrest impaired drivers and to keep the public aware of the dangers of driving while impaired by alcohol and drugs.

Memorial Day signals the start of the summer season with college and high school graduations. Unfortunately, it also means a predictable rise in drunk or drugged driving crashes when reckless drivers take to the roadways impaired. Friends and families will gather for celebrations, often with alcohol, this holiday weekend. Law enforcement is reminding everyone to make plans now for any weekend trips and partying. Make sure to use a ‘designated sober driver’ to prevent arrest or worse, a deadly driving tragedy.

Law enforcement throughout the region, beginning Friday evening, May 24, will deploy DUI/Driver’s License checkpoints in the cities of Placentia, Cypress, Buena Park and Rancho Santa Margarita. Special DUI Saturation Patrols will be deploying in the cities of Anaheim, Brea, Placentia, Fullerton, Irvine, La Palma, Laguna Beach and also in the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s contract cities. More local DUI Saturation Patrols will be out on Saturday and Sunday nights in cities throughout the county. The California Highway Patrol is deploying all available officers Memorial Day weekend onto freeways and county roads as part of their maximum enforcement period.

Law enforcement county-wide is asking for everyone’s support this holiday weekend and all summer long by following these simple and easy tips:

• Plan ahead. Arrange rides home for your friends, family, co-workers and yourself before the drinking begins.
• Those hosting celebrations and servers must limit drinks to your guests or patrons. Don’t serve more than one or two drinks over several hours.
• Cut back on the amount of drinks you plan to bring to the party – and provide plenty of food.
• If you see a drunk driver, call 9-1-1.

Funding for the DUI Task Force is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Task Force will deploy checkpoints and DUI patrols next during the Independence Day Holiday and during the August/Labor Day DUI campaign.

DUI Enforcement Operations Scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend

Sobriety/Drivers License Checkpoints (locations not disclosed):

Friday, May 24 from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.:

• Rancho Santa Margarita Police Services (Orange County Sheriff’s Department)
• Buena Park Police Department
• Placentia Police Department
• Saturday, May 25 from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.
• Cypress Police Department

DUI Saturation Patrols:

Extra DUI roving patrols will be out in the cities of Anaheim, Brea, Fullerton, Irvine, La Palma, Laguna
Beach and Placentia on Friday, May 24 through Monday, May 27.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will deploy DUI roving patrols in its contract cities throughout the
holiday weekend. Cal State Fullerton will also deploy DUI patrols.

The California Highway Patrol’s maximum enforcement period will begin on Friday, May 24 at 6:00 p.m.
through, Monday, May 27 at midnight. The CHP will deploy all available officers to the region’s freeways
and unincorporated roads.

# # #

SANDRA HUTCHENS
SHERIFF-CORONER
550 NORTH FLOWER STREET – P.O. BOX 449
SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA 92702-0449 (714) 647-7042