PASADENA, Calif.—Officers from Pasadena Police Department’s DUI Enforcement Team will be deploying this weekend to stop and arrest alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers as part of an ongoing traffic safety campaign. On Friday, July 19, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m., officers will be patrolling areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and/or arrests.
High Visibility Enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20% when well-publicized, proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.
In 2017, 1,120 people were killed in alcohol-involved crashes on California roads. Last year, Pasadena Police Department investigated 73 DUI collisions, which claimed one life and resulted in another 32 injuries.
Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment. Specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which currently accounts for a growing number of impaired driving crashes.
In recent years, California has seen a disturbing increase in drug-impaired driving crashes. Pasadena Police Department supports the new effort from the Office of Traffic Safety that aims to educate all drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI.
Studies of California drivers have shown that 30% of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems. A study of active drivers showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14%) than did for alcohol (7.3%). Slightly more than alcohol at 7.4%, marijuana was most prevalent among drugs.
Pasadena Police Department offers these reminders to ensure you have a safe night of fun that doesn’t involve a DUI:
- Decide before you go out whether you plan to drink or drive. You can’t do both.
- If you plan to drink, designate a sober driver.
- If you see someone who is clearly impaired try and drive, take their keys and help them make arrangements to find a sober way home. View list of sober/safe ride programs.
- See a friend or another patron impaired trying to get behind the wheel? Take the keys away and help them make other arrangements to get home safely.
- Call 9-1-1 to report drunk drivers.
California Office of Traffic Safety's Designated Driver Very Important Person (DDVIP) program partners with bars and restaurants to offer non-alcoholic specialty drinks for people volunteering as designated drivers: http://bit.ly/OTSDDrinks
Drivers caught driving impaired can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to be up to $13,500 for first-time offenders, including fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspensions and other expenses not to mention possible jail time.
Funding for this DUI operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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