Police: more than 200 arrested for alleged drunken driving

More than 200 motorists were arrested on suspicion ofdriving under the influence throughout Riverside County during the Fourth ofJuly holiday weekend, according to final figures released today.

The “Avoid the 30” task force — named for the number of area policeagencies involved — conducted saturation patrols and staffed sobrietycheckpoints from Wednesday morning to Sunday night as part of its annualIndependence Day crackdown.

The anti-DUI campaign coincided with the California Highway Patrol’s“maximum enforcement period,” during which all available officers hit thestreets to nab impaired drivers, speeders and other traffic violators.

According to Riverside police Sgt. Skip Showalter, the Avoidcoordinator, 203 people were arrested countywide for alleged DUI betweenWednesday and Sunday. There were 60 arrests during the 2012 Fourth of JulyAvoid campaign, but that effort lasted only two days because the holiday fellmidweek.

The next Avoid campaign will begin in mid-August and last through LaborDay weekend.