Holiday DUI Arrests Reach Highest Point In Four Years

The number of people arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in the Coachella Valley over the Christmas holiday weekend reached its highest point in four years, according to figures released today by the California Highway Patrol.

There were 17 DUI arrests in the Coachella Valley during the weekend’s “maximum enforcement period,” according to the CHP. That equals 2007 as the highest total in the past four years.

This year’s maximum enforcement period lasted just 2 1/4 days — two days shorter than in 2007. There were 10 DUI arrests last year during an enforcement period that lasted 3 1/4 days.

Although the number of DUIs increased, the total number of collisions fell drastically. There were only two collisions this year, compared to 12 last year and a high of 24 in 2008. Only one person was injured this year, compared to 11 a year ago, and there were no fatalities, the CHP reported.

The enforcement period ran from 6 p.m. Friday to midnight Sunday.