AVOID The 12 Sends Out DUI teams for Vintner's Festival

Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc - April 13th, 2010

 An Avoid the 12 task force composed of sheriff’s deputies and police officers from four departments will zero in on Lompoc, Buellton and Santa Ynez on Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17, for the Vintner’s Festival.

Deputies and officers from Guadalupe, Lompoc and Santa Maria will be on duty from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Friday and noon to 3 a.m. on Saturday with their eyes peeled for DUI suspects.

“We normally see a great many designated drivers at this event, which is exactly the right way to go,” said Deputy Win Smith of the sheriff’s department, campaign coordinator.

“Whether your completely sober designated driver is a friend, a relative, a limousine driver or a cab driver, you’ll have a lot more worry-free fun and avoid getting arrested,” he remarked.

Smith warns that just tasting wine, if it is done enough times, can add up to an under-the-influence arrest.

Avoid the 12 is the countywide anti-DUI crackdown that gets its name from the dozen law enforcement agencies in the county. The California Office of Traffic Safety funds it through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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