Summer DUI arrests are down from a year ago in Santa Clara
County, according to the sheriff’s office.
Summer DUI arrests are down from a year ago in Santa Clara County, according to the sheriff’s office.
Results so far from the annual “Avoid the 13” campaign show that last weekend, Aug. 19 to Aug. 22, officers from 13 law enforcement agencies throughout the county arrested 70 motorists on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Troy Smith.
During the same three-day period in 2010, officers arrested 105 DUI suspects, Smith added.
No DUI-related traffic deaths were reported either year, police said.
The arrests resulted from local routine traffic enforcement as well as special deployments and overnight saturation patrols as part of the Avoid the 13 campaign, Smith said.
Enhanced enforcement efforts through Avoid the 13 are funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Safety Administration.
Over the next few days, officers will conduct a sweep of warrants issued for DUI suspects throughout Santa Clara County, Smith said.
DUI and driver’s license checkpoints, multi-agency DUI operations and local roving DUI patrols are scheduled regionwide over the 18-day summer crackdown period that goes through the Labor Day weekend, Smith said.
Motorists are encouraged to call 911 to report impaired drivers, he added.
