Police throughout Santa Clara County arrested 57 motorists suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the first weekend of the annual Labor Day DUI crackdown campaign, according to a press release from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
The arrests were made from just after midnight Friday through midnight Sunday, authorities said.
The crackdown effort, known as “Avoid the 13,” included a DUI and driver’s license checkpoint at the intersection of Dunne Avenue and Joleen Way in Morgan Hill, where officers arrested one DUI suspect, according to Morgan Hill police.
The Gilroy Police Department will conduct a similar checkpoint in Gilroy Friday night, also as part of the annual effort by local law enforcement to keep impaired drivers off the roads during one of the summer’s busiest holiday periods, according to police.
Residents can receive real-time updates on checkpoint activities and DUI arrests by following the Sheriff’s Office on Twitter at @SCCOSHERIFF, according to Sheriff’s Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup.
Funding for the Avoid the 13 campaign, which includes saturation patrols as well as checkpoint activities, is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, authorities said.
The summer campaign will continue through midnight Monday, Sept. 2, according to the press release.
