Winter Holiday DUI Campaign – final report

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

Winter Holiday DUI Campaign – Final Report

SANTA ANA, California (January 2, 1014) – The Winter Holiday Anti-DUI crackdown on drinking or drugged drivers has ended and resulted in a significant number of DUI arrests from the sobriety checkpoints, special saturation patrols and routine patrols in the Orange County “Avoid the 38 ” DUI Campaign for the past 20 days.

From 12:01 AM Friday December 13, 2013 through midnight on Wednesday January 1, 2014 officers representing 38 county law enforcement agencies have arrested 862 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Last year, 971 DUI arrests occurred during the holiday campaign. Tragically, there was one death attributed to a drunk driver in our area. Last year, there were no DUI deaths reported. (NOTE: These numbers are only provisional with some agencies yet to report and/or Coroner reports pending).

Law enforcement officials will be conducting more Avoid DUI operations throughout the county and region next during Super Bowl Sunday in February and then again for local St Patrick’s Day festivities in March. Police, Sheriff and the CHP encourage all motorists to help law enforcement every day by reporting Drunk Drivers – by calling 9-1-1 anytime you encounter an impaired driver.

DUI checkpoints, along with regularly scheduled high-visibility DUI enforcement, are proven strategies with the goal of removing impaired drivers from the road and heightening awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), sobriety checkpoint programs can yield considerable cost savings: $6 for every $1 spent. Multiple DUI campaigns in Orange County are planned for 2014.

Grant funding for this program was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

###