Full Notification

The Goleta Police Department Traffic Unit is encouraging those who have prom tomorrow night to make it a Safe and Sober one.  Whether it is a student or any other user of the road, the last thing any family should have to go through is a tragic event of losing a loved one to another senseless impaired driver collision.

Today, May 12, 2016, the Traffic Unit held a demonstration for the students at Dos Pueblos High School in Goleta showing the results of an impaired driver fatality collision.  The demonstration included a crashed car and also goggles that mimicked the vision of an impaired person.

On display was the car that had been driven by 26-year-old Michael Moore last June while he had a blood alcohol content of 0.18%.  Michael, a Dos Pueblos High School graduate and part of a Goleta family, had spent the day celebrating a friend’s birthday at the beach, where he had been drinking throughout the day.

Michael could have heeded to his mother’s advice and called her to come pick him up when he was ready to come home, but instead, he chose to drive himself home.  While driving at about 80 mph on Hollister Avenue, Michael crossed over the left dividing line and struck the center median curb.  Michael then steered the vehicle to the right and then overcorrected to the left, which caused his car to spin out of control as it slid sideways across the center median and across the on-coming lane.  The right side of Michael’s car slammed into a tree, killing him instantly.

The Sheriff’s Office wants to remind its citizens that driving impaired, whether from alcohol or drugs, isn’t acceptable.  The best advice is to either monitor your intake closely or just make the decision to not drive at all after consuming any amount of alcohol.  Wouldn’t it be better to arrive at your destination alive rather than being arrested for DUI, or worse, being involved in an injury or fatal traffic collision? 

The goal of today’s demonstration is to provide students with a firsthand visual experience of how a bad decision can become ultimately worse when behind the wheel of a car.  The more we can do to educate and inform drivers, new or old, of safe driving habits, the better all road users will be in the long run.

Typically, in California, about 30% of all traffic fatalities are the result of a driver being impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. 

The City of Goleta contracts with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office for police services.