Full Notification

Oakland, CA – If you’re enjoying the holidays with a drink, 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 actively searching for and arresting drunk drivers from December 18, 2015 to January 3, 2016. As part of the national Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign, police, sheriff and the CHP will be deploying DUI Checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols during the upcoming 17-day DUI Enforcement Campaign throughout the Bay Area.

The Oakland Police Department will be conducting two DUI Checkpoints (on December 18 and December 31), and one DUI Saturation Patrol (on January 2, 2016). Oakland Police Department Chief Sean Whent says, “Driving drunk is a choice you make, and when you make that choice, people get hurt or die. That’s why we’re joining with law enforcement nationwide to share the message: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over. The safest way to get home is to drive sober or ride with a designated sober driver.”

The Oakland Police Department reminds everyone to follow these simple tips to stay safe. Plan a safe way to get home before you attend the party. Alcohol impairs judgment, as well as reaction time. If you’re impaired, you’re more likely to choose to drive drunk.
• Designate a sober driver, take public transportation, use a car service, or call a sober friend or family member to get home.
• Designate a sober friend to walk you home; walking while impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving.
• Use your community’s sober ride program:
o AAA’s Tipsy Tow Program - free tow (up to 10 miles) for drinking drivers in Northern California from 6 pm on most major holidays until 6 am the next morning. And you don’t even have to be an AAA member. Call (800) 222-4357 (AAA-HELP) and tell the operator, “I need a Tipsy Tow.” You and your vehicle will arrive home safely.
o The Free B Downtown Shuttle (Downtown Oakland) - running every 10-15 minutes from 7 pm to 1 am between Embarcadero West (Jack London Square) and 27th Street on New Year’s Eve.
• If you see someone you think is about to drive while impaired, take their keys and help them get home safely.
• If you see a dangerous driver, call 911 (777-3211 on your cell) – immediately. Be alert and report drunk drivers!

Remember, driving after drinking should never be an option. Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.


There are tens of thousands of reasons to crack down on drunk driving: in 2013, 10,076 people in the United States were killed in crashes involving a drunk driver. In December 2013 alone, 733 people were killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or higher. Twenty-three of those deaths occurred on Christmas Day. California witnessed to 98 deaths and another 1,852 injured in alcohol involved collisions in December 2013.

Recent statistics reveal that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems. A study of active drivers showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14 percent) than did for alcohol (7.3 percent). Of the drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than alcohol. Be mindful: if you’re taking medication – whether prescription or over-the-counter – drinking even small amounts of alcohol can greatly intensify the impairment affects.

Drunk driving is preventable: all it takes is a little planning ahead. Designate a sober driver or call a cab. But whatever you do, don’t drink and drive. If you’re caught drinking and driving you could face jail time, fines, loss of driver’s license, towing fees, and other DUI expenses, totaling $10,000 on average. That’s not a small price – and that doesn’t even count the heftier price you could pay: the price of your life or someone else’s.

The California Office of Traffic Safety DDVIP (Designated Driver VIP) mobile app is now available for free download on iOS and Android devices. Launched last year, the new DDVIP app offers enhanced features, allowing users to “Map a Spot” to find DDVIP partnering establishments in their area or a “List of Spots” to search all participating bars and restaurants throughout California. Users will be offered free incentives at each bar to celebrate their life saving role. Also through the app, for those who want to imbibe but also make it a point to plan ahead, users can easily order a sober ride from Uber, Lyft or Curb – all from one screen.

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