Peninsula CHP Announces 'Maximum Enforcement Period' for New Year's Weekend

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA - California Highway Patrol officers in the Peninsula will join forces with their colleagues this weekend as the agency enters another "maximum enforcement period."

The holiday weekend crackdown, dubbed an MEP, begins at 6:01 p.m. Friday and ends at 11:59 p.m. Monday, according to the CHP. During this time, all available officers will be deployed to catch impaired motorists, speeders and other traffic violators.

"Driving while impaired is a crime that seriously risks your safety and the safety of those around you," CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. "If you drive while impaired, you could get arrested or worse -- be involved in a traffic collision that causes serious injury or death."

Officers from stations throughout the region will also be on Bay Area freeways, highways and unincorporated roads, looking to snare scofflaws.

During the same period a year ago, the CHP arrested more than 900 DUI suspects statewide. Twenty-seven people died in collisions on roads under the CHP's jurisdiction, according to the agency.

"The CHP urges everyone to plan a safe ride home before the parties start," the agency said in a news release. "There are numerous alternatives to driving impaired, including calling a taxi or a sober friend or family member, using public transportation or the increasingly popular ride-hailing services."

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– Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone / City News Service contributed to this report