CHP Promises Maximum Enforcement On Holiday Roads

Beginning tonight, the California Highway Patrol will be ramping up patrols for a two-day “maximum enforcement period,” during which all available officers hit the streets looking people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“This holiday season is all about having good times with family and friends, and about sharing and giving,” CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said. “We want to make sure everyone enjoys their festivities, and therefore, our goal is to ensure you and your loved-ones arrive at your destination safely.”

Twenty-two people died in traffic collisions statewide during last year’s Christmas MEP — two of them in the Riverside area — according to the CHP. More than 1,100 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs — 32 of them in western Riverside County – 10 in the Coachella Valley.

The CHP’s anti-DUI campaign coincides with the Riverside County Avoid the 30 task force’s two-week holiday crackdown. The task force — named for the number of law enforcement agencies that participate — is conducting sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols countywide through Jan. 3.