There were nine alcohol-related arrests reported by the office of the California Highway Patrol in Ukiah dating back to Nov. 17 leading up to this year’s Thanksgiving holiday weekend, part of a statewide trend of increased fatal collisions and DUI-related arrests statewide, according to statistics generated by the CHP for the ongoing holiday period.
Ukiah CHP Public Information Officer Olegario Marin estimated there were about 10 DUI arrests between Wednesday Nov. 22 through Sunday, Nov. 26, but he said the official figures could increase due to the fact some reports are still being generated by the department.
“The law and common sense make it absolutely clear that driving any vehicle, including recreational vehicles, or a boat after drinking is a critical mistake,” Marin said.
He pointed to 2016 statistics that indicate there were 1,838 people killed in California in collisions that involved alcohol.
Last year, another 24,817 people were injured statewide under similar circumstances.
“We actually start looking at increased traffic from Nov. 17,” Marin said, adding since school is out that day in Ukiah and throughout various cities in Mendocino County, CHP officers typically see an increase in traffic from people travelling out early for the holiday weekend.
The Ukiah CHP reported 19 car crashes just outside of city limits in unincorporated county areas between Nov. 17 and Nov. 26, although Marin said it is too early to tell which of these involved alcohol exclusively.
Driving under the influence of marijuana, prescription and other drugs is illegal in California, and Marin said it takes some time to filter out these incidents and those only involving alcohol.
The CHP’s accumulated traffic report for the holiday period of Nov. 22 through Nov. 26 indicates an increase in fatal collisions and arrests statewide in comparison to the same period a year ago.
According to the CHP report, there were a total of 91 Californians killed statewide from Wednesday, Nov. 22 through Sunday, Nov. 26, Thanksgiving weekend, versus 58 reported killed by the CHP in 2016 during the same time period.
DUI-related arrests are also on the rise this year with the CHP reporting 1,057 alcohol-related arrests in 2017 versus 902 statewide in 2016 during the Thanksgiving holiday.
In 2016, the CHP made 59,584 arrests throughout the state for driving under the influence. While law enforcement officials point out driving under the influence does not only pertain to alcohol, more than one-third of all traffic-related deaths in California involved alcohol, according to CHP officials.
According to information made public by the California Highway Patrol’s press office in Sacramento, a year-long effort to reduce impaired driving in California is underway. The CHP and the California Office of Traffic Safety have been working together to reduce impaired driving with a new statewide impairment reduction effort, which started in October of this year and runs until Sept. 30, 2018.
A Statewide Impairment Reduction grant provides the CHP with the needed funding to conduct additional DUI patrolling, DUI checkpoints, and traffic safety education efforts throughout the state. Department officials state the primary objective of these efforts is to apprehend DUI drivers and to educate the public about the dangers of drunk and impaired driving.
According to statistics from the statewide integrated traffic records system, two years ago California experienced 663 deaths and 11,061 injuries as a result of alcohol related driving accidents and collisions.
The Department’s office of communications reported funding for this program was provided by a grant from the state’s Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Law enforcement officials stated in early October when the program funding was announced that while alcohol remains a prominent factor for impaired driving collisions, the presence of drugs in fatal and injury collisions has continued to increase.
