On Dec. 19, the Long Beach Police Department’s Traffic Section conducted a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Saturation Patrol from 7pm to 3am, in place of the scheduled DUI Checkpoint. During the eight-hour operation, motor officers patrolled throughout the city looking for impaired drivers and took the following enforcement actions:
– Conducted 62 enforcement stops
– Conducted 15 standardized field-sobriety tests
– Made four DUI arrests
– Towed/stored two vehicles for DUI
– Issued 10 traffic citations for unsafe driving
In California, the crime of drunken driving has led to 867 deaths and more than 23,000 serious injuries in 2013 because someone failed to designate a sober driver, according to LBPD officials.
Nationally, the latest data shows more than 10,000 were killed by an impaired driver. Over the course of the past three years, the Long Beach Police have investigated 1,032 DUI collisions, which have claimed seven lives and resulted in another 370 injuries.
Driving under the influence can impact the economy in addition to the pain and suffering of those immediately affected, according to the LBPD. Conservatively, a fatality has a $1.4-million impact, an injury— $70,000 and a crash that only damages property averages nearly $9,000.
Funding for the DUI saturation program is from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Report drunken drivers by calling 911.
