Crime & Safety
CHP Ramping Up Christmastime Patrols On Riverside County Freeways
All available officers will deploy to catch drunk or drug-impaired drivers, speeders and other scofflaws.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Drive safe, sober, and obey the speed limit during the upcoming Christmas holiday or face consequences, the California Highway Patrol warned Tuesday.
The agency will initiate its annual Christmastime "holiday enforcement period" at 6 p.m. Wednesday, when all available officers will deploy to catch drunk or drug-impaired drivers, speeders and other scofflaws.
The HEP will only span about 30 hours, concluding late Thursday night.
Find out what's happening in Temeculafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Every instance of speeding or reckless driving carries the potential for life-changing consequences," CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said. "Our officers see the destruction these choices can cause, and we urge every driver to slow down, stay alert and make decisions that protect themselves and others. No destination is worth risking a life."
During last year's Christmas HEP, CHP officers statewide arrested just over 300 motorists on suspicion of driving under the influence, compared to about 900 the year before. The 2024 campaign lasted only a day and night because it fell midweek, like this year's. The 2023 campaign spanned a full three days and nights because Christmas fell on a Monday.
Find out what's happening in Temeculafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to the agency, 17 people died in crashes within the CHP's jurisdiction during Christmas 2024, compared to 20 the year before.
The abridged campaign in 2024 still netted 2,251 speeding tickets — with 132 motorists caught going over 100 mph, the CHP said. The effort to crack down on speeders led to a pilot program initiated earlier this year dubbed Forward Actions for Speeding Tickets, or FAST. The operation involves deployment of "100 low-profile specially marked patrol vehicles," the agency stated.
"Every decision behind the wheel matters, and obeying the speed limit can make the difference between arriving safely, or not at all," the CHP said.
Officers from the Riverside, Blythe, Beaumont, Indio and Temecula CHP stations will be on inland freeways, highways and unincorporated roads, looking to snare traffic violators.
The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, along with multiple municipal agencies countywide, are currently conducting their own operations, staffing sobriety checkpoints and deploying targeted patrols as part of a year- end enforcement mobilization that began about two weeks ago.
Another HEP is slated for New Year's Eve.
