As a part of this winter holiday season’s enhanced DUI enforcement period, officers in Santa Clara County arrested 432 people on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Of these arrests, 63 were made by Gilroy and Morgan Hill police.
The arrests were made from Dec. 14 to Jan. 1 by officers representing 15 county law enforcement agencies.
During this same period in 2011, 491 people were arrested on suspicion of impaired driving, and 514 were arrested in 2010.
No DUI-related traffic fatalities have been reported in Santa Clara County so far this winter. During the same winter holiday period in 2010, 36 people in California were killed in crashes involving impaired drivers, and 1,168 motorists and passengers were injured.
Law enforcement agencies amp up their DUI and traffic enforcement during times of heavy traffic and heaving drinking through the annual “Avoid the 13” campaign. The enforcement efforts are funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Avoid the 13 campaign will continue on future dates when high impaired driving traffic is anticipated.
