From December 18 through January 3, you probably noticed the ‘Avoid the 12’ DUI Task Force was out in full force, targeting one of the deadliest killers on the road: drunk driving. The enforcement was part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign, to save lives and make our roads safer. DUI enforcement resulted in far too many drunk driving arrests countywide over the past 17 days.
From 12:01 AM Friday December 18, through Midnight Sunday January 3, 2016 officers representing 12 county law enforcement agencies have arrested 90 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
There were sixteen DUI related collisions in Stanislaus County during the AVOID Winter Mobilization period. None of these resulted in fatalities.
Thousands of lives could be saved each year is everyone drove sober or caught ride after drinking. In 2013 alone, there were 10,076 people killed in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes in the United States. California’s DUI deaths stood at 867 that year. That’s almost a third of all the traffic crash fatalities for the year according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The Stanislaus County DUI Task Force and thousands of law enforcement agencies around the country teamed up with the NHTSA on the high-visibility enforcement campaign this year. The annual effort aims to reduce drunk driving year-round, not just on these few days during the winter holidays. The campaign may be over, but the warning remains: ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.”
Law enforcement officials will be conducting more high visibility anti-DUI efforts throughout the county and region again on Super Bowl Sunday followed by a crackdown on St Patrick’s Day. Police, Sheriff and the CHP encourage all motorists to help make your community safer: Report Drunk Drivers – Call 911! anytime you encounter a dangerous impaired driver.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Contact,
Deputy Patrick McCulloch#119
(209) 869-7162
[email protected]
