As part of our ongoing efforts to curb incidents of Driving Under the Influence (DUI), the Newport Beach Police Department conducted its first “Know Your Limit” campaign on Thursday, October 29, 2015. The Know Your Limit program is designed to focus on education – not enforcement – with a goal of educating bar and restaurant patrons about the science behind alcohol consumption and the way that alcohol affects their bodies and their ability to drive. The campaign is based on a program that began in Scottsdale, Arizona in 2010 and which has been utilized more locally in Huntington Beach, Tustin, and Laguna Beach.
Between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Thursday evening, a team of three police officers and a sergeant visited three local dining and drinking establishments. The officers approached 75 individuals and offered them the opportunity to participate in a voluntary Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS). Of those contacted, 41 agreed to use the PAS to determine their current level of intoxication.
Before the test, participants are asked how much they have had to drink and if they think that they could drive safely at their current level of intoxication. The PAS is then used to test those perceptions by checking their potential impairment. After the simple process of blowing exhaled air into a small hand-held breath device, the participant is informed of his or her current blood content (BAC). BAC measurements on Thursday evening ranged from .00% to .21%, the latter being more than double the legal limit of .08% for drivers in California. The officers took the time to explain each person’s results and answer any questions the participants, or their friends, might have.
The officers do not ask any of the participants for identification, but they do keep statistics on gender, age, and city of residence. Of the 41 participants, 35 were men and six were women, with an overall average age of 33.7. The participants were from a variety of cities, with the most representatives from Costa Mesa (nine), Newport Beach (eight), and Huntington Beach (three). The remaining 20 participants lived in other locations, from nearby Irvine to as far away as Europe.
“The Know Your Limits campaign is not intended to be an enforcement tool or a scare tactic,” said Sergeant Rachel Johnson. “It’s an educational experience that also fosters positive, cooperative relationships between the Department and the local residents and visitors to our community. The campaign is part of our multi-pronged approach to reducing incidents of DUI through outreach, education, and enforcement. Our goal is to keep the roads safe and we hope that informational cards (like the one pictured) will help people think about their decisions before they get behind the wheel.”
Funding for this special campaign is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Images of a sample informational card and photographs of Thursday’s campaign appear with this message, and can also be viewed in the Press Releases section of our website at www.nbpd.org.
