BBQ, Beer and Beware DUI Patrols

This weekend might be a good time to declare independence from too much alcohol because as you prepare for your Independence Day weekend, local law enforcement will be too.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters announced the "Avoid the 13" DUI Taskforce's campaign against driving under the influence will begin Friday and last through early Tuesday morning.

In particular, Milpitas, , Palo Alto, Santa Clara, San Jose and the California Highway Patrol will add extra police officers to patrol for potential DUI incidents, according to Sgt. Rick Sung, spokesman for the Sheriff's Department. Funds from the Avoid the 13 grant program pays for the local police department overtime units.

Last year, the program recorded 94 DUI arrests over the four-day enforcement period, Sung confirmed.

Summer holidays are statistically some of the deadliest times to be on the roadways, said Chris Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 410 people were killed in traffic collisions during the 2009 Fourth of July weekend across the country. Of that number, 40 percent involved drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 grams per deciliter or higher.

In California, 7 were killed in DUI crashes during the Fourth of July
weekend in 2009 while another 352 were injured in alcohol involved collisions, according to the NHTSA.

Fortunately, said Sung, there were no July 4 weekend deaths in 2010 in Santa Clara County, where the Avoid the 13 campaign has been part of the holiday enforcement picture for more than a decade.

Santa Clara County law enforcement would like to keep it that way for this weekend. Follow these tips from the Sheriff's Office:

• Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin
• Before drinking, please designate a sober driver and give that person your keys
• If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation so you are sure to get home safely;
• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate: “Report Drunk Drivers, Call 9-1-1!”

“Impaired drivers not only take the risk of hurting or killing themselves or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of an alcohol-impaired-driving crash or arrest can be significant," said Captain Frank Damiano, Headquarters Patrol Division Commander.