Eighteen people were arrested last weekend as part of
campaign
Morgan Hill – The kickoff last weekend of the annual “Avoid the 13” campaign netted a bevy of drunk drivers in Morgan Hill.
“It was a great weekend for DUI arrests,” said Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing. “It was a good start to our campaign.”
MHPD officers arrested 18 people last weekend, 11 on Friday night. No DUI-related accidents were reported.
In preparation for the kickoff, MHPD officer Max Cervantes, one of the department’s two traffic officers, visited 14 bars and restaurants in the city to distribute posters about the campaign and the cost of getting a DUI.
“The idea was to take more preventative action up front,” said MHPD police Cmdr. Joe Sampson. “Officer Cervantes provided a list of local taxi services as well as information about all the costs involved with being cited for driving under the influence. Our hope is that people will make arrangements in advance for a designated driver or to call a taxi.”
The MHPD will have extra patrol cars out during the Avoid the 13 campaign, which ends at midnight on New Year’s Day, with officers watching for reckless driving and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Countywide, there were 32 DUI arrests on Friday – the same number arrested on the first night of the campaign last year.
Chief Scott Seaman of the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Dept., who is the Avoid the 13 chairman, sent out a DUI strike team of 52 officers from departments across the county.
Avoid the 13, like all 35 countywide police crackdowns in California, is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for South Valley Newspapers. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
