Crime & Safety

Napa-Area DUI Enforcement Steps Up Starting Friday

Avoid the 9 DUI Task Force detail continues through Labor Day weekend.

 From mid-August through Labor Day, Napa-area police, Sheriff's deputies and CHP officials will be out in force as part of the annual nationwide “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown on drunk driving.  

The crackdown, which will include high-visibility enforcement throughout Napa County, will run from Aug. 16 through Sept. 2.  

Napa Police Sgt. Brian Campagna said the Avoid the 9 Napa DUI Task Force will be aggressively looking for drunk drivers during the crackdown and will arrest anyone caught driving drunk. 

Plans are in place for one DUI/drivers license checkpoint, a multi-agency strike team, 10 local roving DUI saturation patrols, a DUI warrant/probation sweep and a DUI court sting targeting suspended drivers who were ordered by the judge not to drive.

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Although it is illegal with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher, far too many people get behind the wheel after consuming too much alcohol.  The latest statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration underscore the serious nature of the nation’s continuing drunk driving epidemic.

 “Every year, about one third of all motor vehicle traffic deaths involve one or more drunk drivers or motorcycle operators,” Campagna said.  “In 2011 9,878 people died in crashes involving drunk drivers.  

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"That works out to approximately one drunk driving fatality every 53 minutes," he said. "In California, 774 died due to the crime of impaired driving.”

Campagna added that long weekends such as the Labor Day holiday are particularly dangerous.

“We want to remind everyone that getting behind the wheel drunk is a terrible idea," Campagna said. "Unfortunately, not only does drinking impair your ability to operate a vehicle safely, it also impairs your judgment and good sense about whether you can, or should drive. 

"If you have any doubt about your sobriety, do not get behind the wheel," he added. "If you do chose to drive impaired, you will be arrested.  No warnings. No excuses.”

Campagna noted that being arrested for driving drunk brings a wide range of negative consequences into one’s life.  Drunk drivers face jail time, loss of their driver licenses, and steep financial consequences such as higher insurance rates, attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of job.

When family, friends and co-workers find out, violators also often face tremendous personal embarrassment.

“Driving drunk is simply not worth the risk," he said. "So don’t take the chance. Remember, we will be out in force and we will be watching, so ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.’”

 



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