You’d Better Watch Out, I’m Telling You Why: Cops Are Cracking Down On Drunk Driving - Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
Oakland, CA – This time of year, with all the holiday office parties and festive occasions with friends and families, many partygoers will be drinking. If you’re celebrating with alcohol this holiday season, the Oakland Police Department has a message for you: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. Due to the increase in drunk-driving-related fatalities around the holidays each year, law enforcement agencies across America will be out in force December 12, 2014 through January 1, 2015—actively searching for drunk or drug-impaired drivers.
OPD will be conducting two DUI Driving Under the Influence (DUI)/Drivers License Checkpoints and one roving DUI Saturation patrol with the first DUI operations planned on December 19, 2014 and December 31, 2014. The DUI Checkpoint will be operating from 7:00 PM to 3:00 AM. Additionally, law enforcement agencies (police, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, and the California Highway Patrol) throughout the region are deploying multiple DUI operations in overtime to increase DUI arrests.
The facts are grim: in December 2012, 830 people were killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher; 26 of those deaths occurred on Christmas Day. On average, a third (31%) of all crash fatalities in America involves drunk driving. But on Christmas Day 2012, the percentage jumped to 36%. Every year, more than 10,322 people are killed by drunk drivers in America, with 802 of those in California alone. In California, an additional 24,000 are seriously injured.
Some startling data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that during the holiday season in 2012, 40% of the drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes had at least one prior DUI on their record. And many offenders are young drivers: during that same holiday period 37% of the 21- to 24-year-old drivers in fatal crashes were drunk. Surprisingly, almost 1 out of 6 drivers under the age of 21 in those fatal crashes were also drunk, even though they’re too young to legally buy or consume alcohol.
If you’re drinking and driving, law enforcement will be out to find and arrest you – no warnings, no excuses. The only way to truly avoid a DUI is to drive sober. There are many ways to get home safely after drinking, and driving isn’t one of them. Designate a sober driver ahead of time, or call a friend or family member. You could also use public transportation, or call a taxi. The cost of cab fare is nothing compared to a $10,000 DUI or the cost of someone’s life, and the “inconvenience” of not driving your own car home is nothing compared to the inconvenience of spending the holidays behind bars.
This holiday season, don’t let the festivities turn into fatalities.
Funding is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who reminds everyone; Report Drunk Drivers! – Call 9-1-1.
The Office of Traffic Safety is offering a free mobile app – DDVIP – aimed at thanking the sober designated driver with perks and free offers at area bars and restaurants.
For more information, please contact Lt. Peter Lau at (510) 777-8637 or [email protected].
Nixle Tip Watch allows ANONYMOUS tipsters to send OPD a tip three ways:
1. Text TIP OAKLANDPD to 888777 from your cell phone followed by your tip
2. Call our toll-free tip hotline at 855-TIPS-247 (855-847-7247)
3. Submit a tip by web form - see the option at the bottom of OPD's Nixle messages or visit http://nixle.us/tip/oakland-police-department-ca/ to complete and send.
Anonymous Tipping allows residents to proactively connect with the Oakland Police Department by submitting anonymous tips via web form and text message. Additionally, with the issuance of a tipping passcode to tipsters, we can initiate a two-way, anonymous communication to help gather more information.
Make an ANONYMOUS TIP by phone:
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Oakland Police Department CA
OAKLAND POLICE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
Oakland, CA 94607
Contact
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