7 Petaluma DUI Arrests, 5 Crashes On 1st Day Of Labor Day Weekend

PETALUMA, CA — On the first day of Labor Day weekend, California Highway Patrol officers already had their hands full with a cluster of crashes and suspected impaired drivers in Petaluma.

The CHP enacted its annual maximum enforcement period on Friday evening to prepare for a possible influx of motorists under the influence of alcohol over the three-day weekend.

On Friday in Petaluma, the day began with five collisions — two hit and run crashes, two property damage collisions and one vehicle roll-over that left one person with minor injuries, the Petaluma Police Department said in a statement.

Between 5:30 a.m. and 2:30 a.m., officers arrested seven people on suspicion of driving under the influence. During the same period in 2021, 14 people were arrested on suspicion of DUI, police said.

RELATED: Bay Area CHP Begins 'Maximum Enforcement Period'

The department deployed two officers Friday to conduct a DUI Saturation Patrol for the National Highway Traffic Safety Association's Impaired Driving Labor Day Campaign, the department said.

Drivers charged with a first-time DUI face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties, as well as a suspended license, police said.

"Although impaired driving is dangerous and prevalent year-round, the end of summer and Labor Day Weekend period are particularly deadly on the roadways of California. The Petaluma Police Department wants to remind the community about the dangers of drunk and impaired driving," the department said.

To combat a recent uptick in the number of DUI-related incidents earlier this year, the department returned one DUI officer to duty and added another DUI officer in February.

READ MORE: Petaluma Police Department Adds 2 DUI Officers Amid Uptick

The California Highway Patrol will be on the lookout for impaired and reckless drivers this Labor Day weekend across the Bay Area as part of its annual effort to maximize enforcement over the three-day weekend.

At least 43 people were killed in vehicle crashes on California roadways during the holiday weekend last year, CHP officials wrote in a statement.

"Alcohol- and drug-impaired driving continues to be a leading cause of traffic fatalities and injuries in California, and the moment an impaired driver gets behind the wheel, they put themselves and every other person on the road in great danger," CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said in a statement.