Local rescue and safety workers are breathing a sigh of relief
that, despite the wet weather, the holiday season, as of Monday,
has been relatively problem-free.
Local rescue and safety workers are breathing a sigh of relief that, despite the wet weather, the holiday season, as of Monday, has been relatively problem-free.
“We have had our EMS (emergency medical service) calls, but no fires, nothing really unusual,” Santa Clara County Fire Department Battalion Chief Brad Darbro said Monday. “So far, so good. There have been a few accidents, but again, nothing major.”
Morgan Hill Police have experienced a similar quiet, according to Lt. Joe Sampson.
“Perhaps the weather actually worked for us this time and kept everyone indoors, not out getting into trouble,” he said Monday. “We have had calls, but nothing really out of the ordinary.”
One area the department is focusing on this time of year is preventing driving under the influence, or DUI, accidents. Along with 15 other law enforcement agencies, the MHPD is participating in the annual “Avoid the 13” campaign, which kicked off Dec. 12 and will last through Jan. 2.
The campaign, which is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, uses mobile strike teams and sobriety checkpoints to discourage drunken driving and to take drunken drivers off the road.
During this year’s campaign, there have been no fatal DUI crashes countywide. Totals for all 16 agencies participating, as of Dec. 28, include 17 injury DUI crashes, 59 non-injury DUI crashes and a total of 722 DUI arrests.
“We’ve been able to be actively involved in DUI prevention,” Sampson said. “We had a checkpoint Dec. 20, and we’ve had roving patrols with an additional DUI patrol car. We’ve been productive in keeping the number of DUI-related accidents down. The level of enforcement is up, we’ve made some arrests. We’ve seen a difference with having the other car out there.”
The next big hurdle, Sampson said, will come with the New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day holiday.
“New Year’s Eve particularly is a time when people really, really like to celebrate,” he said. “It’s traditional to go out and party. There are a lot of venues, restaurants, bars, hotels and organized parties. Designated drivers are a good idea, but we also strongly suggest that if you are at a location and if you’ve been drinking, stay where you are. Book a room ahead of time if you plan to be out.”
Officers will be out in force Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, said Sampson with “probably an additional patrol car or two.”
Officers will also be ready to respond to calls concerning any shots being fired.
“People tend to want to fire (weapons) in the air or fire off firecrackers,” he said. “Typically we have a lot of ‘shots fired’ calls. The city ordinance says no firing of weapons is allowed in the city limits, and we encourage everybody to respect that ordinance. People need to realize that a bullet comes down with the same velocity that it goes up with.”
Bullets can also go through walls and roofs, Sampson said.
