St. Patrick's Day DUI Enforcement

Partygoers who overindulge in green beer and Irish whiskey on St. Patrick’s Day, Monday, March 17, will have two Santa Barbara sobriety and driver’s license checkpoints to contend with as Avoid the 12 cracks down on impaired drivers.

Santa Barbara police and deputies from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Dept. are teaming up to staff the checkpoints, which will run from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m.

Avoid the 12, which is named after the county’s dozen law enforcement agencies, runs anti-DUI campaigns on holidays.

Both departments would rather arrest the DUI driver than to find them after a crash, say SBPD Sgt. Todd Stoney and Deputy Win Smith, who coordinates Avoid the 12.

“Drink responsibly, designate a completely sober driver, pre-arrange a ride home and understand that every police officer and deputy sheriff will be diligently looking for impaired drivers,” Stoney said.

Smith and Stoney request that people who see an obviously dangerous driver on the road use their cellular phones to dial 911 and be ready to tell the dispatcher the car’s description, its license and location. “Doing so could save the life of a friend or loved one,” Stoney commented.

Avoid the 12, like all other countywide Avoid campaigns in California, is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.