Lead Up to Labor Day Brings DUI
Crackdown to South San Francisco
South San Francisco Police Department Reminds Everyone to
Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over
Labor Day weekend is coming up. For many Americans, that means an extra day off, backyard and beach barbecues, visiting friends and family, and the unofficial end of the summer season.Unfortunately, it also means a sharp increase in drunk-driving-related fatalities. Now through Labor Day September 1, the South San Francisco Police Department will be aggressively targeting drunk and drugged drivers as part of a nation wide effort to end impaired driving and save lives. The Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign will pair increased public awareness with high- visibility enforcement, resulting in fewer drunk drivers on our streets.
The South San Francisco Police Department will be looking for impaired drivers through out the city with plans in place for several DUI and traffic enforcement saturation patrols in the coming weeks as well as a DUI and Drivers License Checkpoint to be held on Saturday August 23rd at an undisclosed location within the city limits.
In California, this deadly crime led to 80 2deaths because someone failed to designate a sober driver. Nationally, the latest data shows nearly 10,000 were killed by an impaired driving. “Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed two lives and resulted in 70 injury crashes harming 96 of our friends and neighbors,” said Lt .Keith Wall.
Over the 2012 Labor Day weekend, 147 people lost their lives to a drunk driver, more than a third (38percent) of all traffic fatalities that weekend. Out of all the crash fatalities that weekend,one in four were attributed to drivers with a blood alcohol concentration(BAC) level of.15 percent or higher-almost twice the legal limit in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Every 51 minutes,someone is killed in a drunk-driving crash. Over the Labor Day weekend, those fatalities increase to one every 3 4minutes. Nighttime is especially dangerous; almost half (46percent) of the fatalities in night time crashes over the Labor Day weekend involved a driver with a BAC of .08 or higher, compared to 25 percent in day time fatal crashes.
This Labor Day weekend don’t let the festivities turn in to fatalities. Remember that, aside from the obvious risks of killing yourself or someone else, driving impaired can also lead to serious punitive consequences. A DUI arrest can mean time in jail, loss of your license, and steep financial expenses; the average DUI can cost up to $10,000.
Funding for this special operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who reminds everyone; Report Drunk Drivers!-Call9-I-1. The Office of Traffic Safety is offering a free mobile app-DDVIPCA.COM-aimed at thanking the sober designated driver with perks and free offers at area bars and restaurants.