Crime & Safety
San Rafael Police Ready for Halloween DUI Crackdown
The CHP and the Marin Sheriff's Department will join police in enforcing a Halloween DUI crackdown.
Police in San Rafael will be joined by the California Highway Patrol and the Marin Sheriff's Department in enforcing a Halloween DUI crackdown.
An aggressive Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement effort, will be held throughout the region, the San Rafael Police Department said. The crackdown is part of the Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force, which warns “fair warning to all partygoers: keep the party off the road.”
“The scariest part of Halloween is not the spooky costumes and scary pranks, it’s the impaired drivers. All too often, partygoers don’t plan ahead and choose to drive impaired, but a costume can’t disguise drunk driving,” San Rafael’s Police Chief Diana Bishop said in a prepared statement.
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In addition to already scheduled routine patrols, the Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force will be deploying additional patrols throughout the county on Thursday, October 31st in order to stop and arrest alcohol or drug impaired drivers.
Halloween is one of the deadliest holidays of the year on our roadways.
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According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 2007-2011, 52 percent of all national fatalities occurring on Halloween night involved a drunk driver. Males ages 21-34 comprised almost half of all drunk drivers who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide during the 2011 Halloween period. It is also the deadliest night for child pedestrians of any night of the whole year.
“If you celebrate with alcohol, you don’t belong behind the wheel.” Bishop said. “A sober and safe ride after the party is the best treat you can give yourself and everyone else on the road this Halloween.”
The Avoid the 13 Marin County DUI Task Force offers the following recommendations for avoiding accidents, injuries and arrests this Halloween:
Plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night before the Halloween festivities begin.
Always designate a sober driver.
If you are impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk youhome.
If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement.
If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going. If you think you have to ask if they are okay to drive, you already know they’re not.
Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
