Laguna Beach Police on Labor Day Drunk Watch

From the Laguna Beach Police Department:

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, Sept. 1, the Laguna Beach Police Department will be aggressively targeting drunk and drugged drivers as part of a nationwide 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 Laguna Beach streets.

The Laguna Police Department will be looking for impaired drivers throughout the city with plans in place for a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint on Aug. 22, at an undisclosed location within the city limits, between the hours of 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.

In California, this deadly crime led to 802 deaths in 2012 because someone failed to designate a sober driver. Nationally, the latest data shows nearly 10,000 were killed by an impaired driver. “Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed one life and have resulted in 37 injury crashes, harming 53 of our friends and neighbors in Laguna Beach,” said Lieutenant Calvert.

Over the 2012 Labor Day weekend, 147 lost their lives to a drunk driver, more than a third (38 percent) 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 34 minutes. Nighttime is especially dangerous; almost half (46 percent) of the fatalities in nighttime crashes over the Labor Day weekend involved a driver with a BAC of .08 or higher, compared to 25 percent in daytime fatal crashes.

This Labor Day weekend don’t let the festivities turn into 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! – Call 9-1-1. 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.

PHOTO Patch file photo.