Officers from the Arcadia Police
Department’s Traffic Division will be deploying this weekend to stop and arrest
alcohol and drug-impaired drivers in the Department’s ongoing traffic safety
campaign. DUI Saturation Patrols will
deploy on Friday, February 10th between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. in
areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and/or arrests.
High Visibility Enforcement using
both DUI checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols has proven to lower the number
of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an
impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized
proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.
In California, alcohol involved
collisions led to 1,155 deaths and nearly 24,000 injuries in 2014 because
someone failed to designate a sober driver.
Over the course of the past three years officers have investigated over
50 DUI collisions resulting in countless injuries.
Officers will be looking for
signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment.
When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate
those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which now accounts for a growing
number of impaired driving crashes.
Studies of California drivers
have shown that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in
their systems. A study of active drivers
showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14 percent) than
did for alcohol (7.3 percent). Of the
drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than
alcohol. Everyone should be mindful that if you’re taking medication – whether
prescription or over-the-counter – drinking even small amounts of alcohol can
greatly intensify the impairment affects.
Drivers are encouraged to
download the Designated Driver VIP, or “DDVIP,” free mobile app for Android or
iPhone. The DDVIP app helps find nearby bars and restaurants that feature
free incentives for the designated sober driver, from free non-alcoholic drinks
to free appetizers and more. The feature-packed app even has social media
tie-ins and even a tab for the non-DD to call Uber, Lyft or Curb.
The cost of a ride home is
cheap! Drivers caught driving impaired
can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to include jail time, fines, fees, DUI
classes, license suspensions and other expenses that can exceed $10,000 not to
mention the embarrassment when friends and family find out.
Funding for
this DUI operation is provided to the Arcadia Police Department by a grant from
the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration, reminding everyone to ‘Report Drunk Driver – Call
9-1-1’.
Robert T. Guthrie
Chief of Police
By: Kollin Cieadlo
Traffic Sergeant
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