Law enforcement officers from around the Southland are out in force to crackdown on motorists who drive while impaired during this Independence Day holiday period. The campaign officially began last Friday and continues through this weekend.
The campaign is a coordinated effort among law enforcement agencies that includes increased patrols and sobriety/driver's license checkpoints.
Today, the Avoid the DUI Task Force will combine forces from Monrovia, West Covina, Baldwin Park, El Monte, Baldwin Park, Arcadia and Sierra Madre to patrol their areas. The CHP will maintain DUI checkpoints in Newhall and the West Valley.
The LAPD will concentrate on the Pacific area and the southeast. Officers from Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Montebello and Bell Gardens will combine forces to patrol their areas. Glendora, Pomona, Claremont, La Verne, Covina, Azusa and Irwindale will conduct joint patrols as well.
The CHP will conduct DUI patrols in Baldwin Park and the Antelope Valley. There will be a DUI checkpoint in San Gabriel and the CHP will operate checkpoints in Baldwin Park and Altadena.
There will also be joint DUI patrols with various local police forces in Glendale, South Pasadena, Pasadena, Burbank, San Marino and San Fernando.
Brewer urged people to follow these common-sense guidelines:
- plan a safe way home before a party;
- before drinking, designate a sober driver;
- if you're impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, use public transportation or use your community's sober ride program;
- take the car keys away from someone you know who is about to drive while impaired, and help them make arrangements to get home safely; and
- call 911 if you see someone driving drunk. Funding for the Avoid Campaign is provided from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
