Cracking Down on Drunk Drivers Ramps Up for New Year's Eve

A statewide holiday DUI crackdown has netted over 1,000 arrests
throughout the Bay Area since Dec. 16, and law enforcement agencies are
gearing up for more enforcement actions for the upcoming New Year's Day
weekend.

Warrent sweeps netted 32 arrests in Sonoma County, Petaluma police Sgt. Ken Savano said.

Savano said Sonoma County law enforcement has also been conducting
checkpoints and patrol enforcements, and has made 132 DUI arrests during the
campaign.

Several Bay Area counties are reporting less DUI arrests during
the same period in previous years, a trend they attribute to increased
awareness of the risks of driving drunk.

Santa Clara County reported that 279 arrests were made between
Dec. 16 and Dec. 28 this year and 375 arrests were made during the same
period in 2010; San Mateo County reported 111 arrests this year and 128 last
year; Monterey County reported 61 arrests this year and 108 last year.

But the holiday DUI campaign is not yet over, and law enforcement is gearing up for one of the biggest drunk driving nights of the year -- New
Year's Eve.

Law enforcement will be out in force, patrolling and conducting DUI checkpoints looking for drivers who left parties after too much to drink.

One DUI checkpoint that has already been announced is in San Francisco starting at 8:30 p.m. at Folsom and Eighth streets.

"Anyone who's planning on going over to the city had better be stone-cold sober," Ford said.

Ford is encouraging drivers to take a bus, hop on a cable car, or take a cab if they're planning on celebrating New Year's Eve by drinking.

"Even if you take a cab back to the East Bay, that's $50 to $60, that's much cheaper than a DUI arrest," she said.

In addition, BART will be running longer hours on New Year's Eve to accommodate the holiday festivities. Trains will run until 3 a.m. on Sunday morning, well after the ringing of the New Year at midnight.

By Bay City News