Police also will be looking for motorists not wearing their
seatbelts
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – As the long Memorial Day weekend kicks off the unofficial start of summer, police will be out on local roads to prevent drunken driving and riding in vehicles without seat belts.
Starting Friday, the California Highway Patrol began saturating freeways with extra officers and special enforcement teams to crack down on intoxicated drivers. The stepped-up enforcement will occur through midnight Monday, May 30.
As part of the “Avoid the 13” program, which partners nearby law enforcement agencies during holiday periods, and the “Click it or Ticket” seat belt enforcement campaign, the CHP seeks to reduce highway deaths during the long weekend.
Gilroy police and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies will be logging overtime DUI enforcement hours, funded by the state Office of Traffic Safety.
Some departments in Santa Clara County will serve warrants on people who have been convicted of multiple drunken driving offenses and failed to comply with a judge’s orders. People who think they have warrants out for their arrest may contact the Sheriff’s Office records department and arrange to turn themselves in.
As many as 80 percent of available officers who will be on the road will watch for motorists violating seat belt laws, as well.
Violators face a ticket and a fine of about $100, according to the California Vehicle Code.
Twenty-seven people died in vehicle crashes in California during the 2004 Memorial Day weekend, although no fatal crashes occurred in the South County area. Six of those killed were not wearing seat belts, said Officer Matt Ramirez with the Gilroy/Hollister CHP.
Across the state in 2003, 50 people died during the Memorial Day weekend. Again, there were no fatalities near Gilroy, but there were four injury accidents.
Officers urge motorists to buckle up even if they are taking a short trip or the safety belt feels confining.
The CHP says California’s safety belt compliance rate is among the highest in the country, with more than 90 percent of motorists choosing to buckle up.
For more information about the dangers of drinking and driving, including guidelines for knowing one’s limit and personal stories, visit:
– state DMV, www.dmv.ca.gov
– Mother’s Against Drunk Driving (MADD), www.madd.org,
– U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, www.health.org
– California Office of Traffic Safety site, www.ots.ca.gov
Lori Stuenkel covers crime and public safety for the Gilroy Dispatch. Reach her at 847-7158 or ls*******@gi************.com.
