CHP Launching New Year's Crackdown Across Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — California Highway Patrol officers Tuesday night will ramp up operations to crack down on drunken and drug-impaired motorists throughout the Inland Empire as part of a holiday period anti-DUI campaign.

The CHP will initiate its New Year's "maximum enforcement period" at 6 p.m. Tuesday, when all available officers deploy to catch impaired motorists, speeders and other traffic violators. The campaign, which replicates a 30-hour MEP for Christmastime, will continue until late Wednesday night.

Officers from the Riverside, Blythe, Indio, San Gorgonio Pass and Temecula CHP stations will be on Inland Empire freeways, highways and unincorporated roads, looking to snare suspects.

"Our officers are committed to working through the Holidays to ensure everyone can reach their destinations safely," CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said. "Safe roads are possible when every driver makes responsible decisions behind the wheel."

The 2023-24 New Year's MEP netted 892 arrests statewide, compared to 570 during the 2022-23 campaign, according to the CHP.

Last year's campaign, however, spanned three full days and nights because it was a holiday weekend. This year's effort falls in the middle of the week, meaning a shorter deployment.

The current crackdown will coincide with year-end anti-DUI campaigns involving the Riverside County Sheriff's Department and multiple municipal law enforcement agencies countywide.

Deputies and officers have been conducting saturation patrols and staffing sobriety checkpoints to catch intoxicated drivers. Operations will conclude at the end of the week.