Thanksgiving DUI Crackdown Kicks Off In Bay Area

BAY AREA, CA – During Thanksgiving weekend, one of the country's busiest travel times, the California Highway Patrol is going all out with enforcement to help forestall tragedies starting Wednesday, the agency said.

All available CHP officers will be on patrol in a maximum enforcement period beginning at 6:01 p.m. Wednesday and ending at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, according to the CHP.

Additionally, the CHP is urging drivers to wear their seat belts.

Among the 27 people killed in 2016 Thanksgiving crashes in CHP jurisdictions, 14 were not wearing seat belts, according to the agency's data.

"Whether you are driving across the street or across the country for your Thanksgiving gathering, it is imperative to wear your seat belt," Warren Stanley, the CHP's acting commissioner, said in a statement.

"Wearing a seat belt is essential every day of the year, but we do not want to have festivities ruined as a result of people not buckling up for their trips," Stanley said.

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By Bay City News Service / Image via Shutterstock