Santa Barbara County - May 24th, 2008

STATE ROUTE 154 SATURATION
SATURATION PATROLS - 55 CARS STOPPED
1 DUI ARREST

Officers with the multi-jurisdictional “Avoid the 12” DUI task force stopped 55 cars on State Route 154 near Santa Ynez yesterday (Friday, May 23), conducted five investigations of people suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs and made one DUI arrest while issuing 26 citations to other drivers.

The one man arrested was the driver for a group that had been wine tasting all day. Officers stopped him for unsafe passing and nearly rear-ending another vehicle, according to Deputy Win Smith of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Dept., campaign coordinator.

A similar 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. task force will cover Highway 154 on Sunday.

The countywide crackdown continues until midnight on Monday. All three area commands of the California Highway Patrol will continue to field 80 percent of their available officers all weekend, while Lompoc police plan a sobriety checkpoint on Sunday from 6 to 11 p.m. at an undisclosed location.

The California Office of Traffic Safety funds “Avoid the 12” through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. There are 40 other similar campaigns in the state with a total of 450 participating police agencies. All are out after DUI suspects over the holiday weekend.