Halloween DUI Crackdown

Ghosts, goblins and ghouls may have free rein tomorrow, but there’s no room for drunken drivers on Halloween. The Riverside County Avoid the 30 task force, named for the number participating law enforcement agencies, will be conducting an anti-DUI campaign Thursday night in locations throughout the county.

According to the Avoid coordinator, Riverside police Sgt. Skip Showalter, area law enforcement agencies will be deploying saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints “in an effort to remove impaired drivers before they harm trick-or-Treaters.”

Showalter said national statistics show Halloween night is “the deadliest night of the year for child pedestrians.” Fifty-two percent of all traffic fatalities on Halloween nights from 2007-2011 were DUI-related, according to Showalter. The Halloween Avoid the 30 campaign is the first that will be covered under a $439,388 grant received this month from the California Office of Traffic Safety, Showalter said.

He said grant funding will be applied to additional Avoid operations on major holidays and other occasions over the 12 months. The OTS has provided funding for Avoid campaigns since 2008.