Red County, California

From the good folks at the Seal Beach Police Department:

Champagne Cocktail Buy From Art.com

The New Year is upon us. Plans are in place for parties, shopping and traveling to friends and family. However, each year motorists will be in harm’s way thanks to careless ones who will drink and drive this season.

Beginning this Friday (01/01/2010) at 8:00pm, Seal Beach Police Department will join enforcement across the state as part of California’s 18 Day Holiday DUI Crackdown Campaign with law enforcement agencies deploying 300 DUI/Drivers License Checkpoints statewide. Funding for the special enforcement campaign, December 16, 2009 through January 3, 2010 comes from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Safety Administration.

The Seal Beach Police Department will be conducting a sobriety and drivers license checkpoint on Friday, January 1, 2010, in the south end of the city.

“The Seal Beach Police Department exercises a ZERO TOLERANCE policy regarding drinking an ddriving,” said Steve Bowles, Sergeant with the Seal Beach Police Department. “Our officers are working diligently to provide safe streets and highways for our motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians this holiday season.”

In 2008, 11,773 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. In California, 1,029 were killed on state and local roads driving with a .08 BAC or higher with another 28,457 injured in Alcohol Involved Collisions.

“Drunk driving is simply not worth the risk. Not only do you risk illing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance rates, attorney fees, time away from work, and dozens of other expeness. So don’t take the chance. Remember, if you are over the limit, you are under arrest.”

Law enforcement encourages everyone planning a family gathering over the holidays to first think about how your friends and family will get home after drinking uuring holiday celebrations. Everyone is encouraged to “Report Drunk Drivers — Call 911” and be ready to describe the vehicle, its location and direction of travel to make you community safer into the New Year. With everyone’s help, families won’t remember the holidays of 2009 as a time of loss at the hands of another drunk driver.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Drink, Drive, Crash . . . and Write Off the Damage (blogs.wsj.com)
• Vehicle owners need a reality check about drunk driving (carinsurance.arrivealive.co.za)
• New State Laws Aim to Keep DUI Offenders Dry in the Driver’s Seat (laist.com)
• Spread the Word About Buzzed Driving This Holiday Season! (susanheim.blogspot.com)