15 Arrests Made in Countywide Drunken Driving Crackdown

Fifteen people were arrested for drunken driving at 14 checkpoints or special deployments countywide that ended early Sunday.

"The Summer/Labor Day National Anti-DUI Crackdown has resulted in a significant number of DUI arrests from local routine traffic enforcement," said Lt. David Gilmore of San Diego County Sheriff's Department in a statement. "Last year there was one alcohol-related death during the Labor Day Mobilization. There were no alochol-related deaths reported for this time period this year."

The crackdown was part of the AVOID, Anti-DUI Program launched in 1973 to bring law enforcement officers together in countywide clusters to catch drinking drivers and reduce the number of deaths and injuries from alcohol- related crashes. Program funding from state grants allows counties to add overtime hours, reassign officers and conduct public-awareness campaigns during increased drunken driving enforcement periods.

The overall goal of the awareness campaign is to let drivers know about increased enforcement periods warning drivers their only way to "avoid" officers is to drive sober.

Increased drunken driving enforcement periods are launched mid-August through Labor Day, mid-December through New Year's and during high traffic holiday periods on Memorial Day and Independence Day weekends.

AVOID DUI patrols are also deployed on other such high-incident nights as Halloween, Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick's Day and Cinco De Mayo during the rest of the year.

-City News Service