CHP Says New Year’s DUIs up 30 percent

At least 20 people died in traffic accidents statewide over the New Year’s holiday, and drunken-driving arrests were up more than 30 percent in California compared to the same period last year, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP officers statewide made 898 arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence between 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and 6 a.m. today, up from 688 arrests during the same 36-hour reporting period a year ago.

Officials also reported 20 traffic deaths over the New Year’s holiday, up from 16 a year ago, although all the deaths were not necessarily DUI-related fatalities, the CHP noted.

“People are not designating a non-intoxicated driver, and people need to be aware and remember how important it is to have that person to make sure they get home safely,” said Officer Krystal Carter of the CHP’s transportation management center in Los Angeles.

Local statistics on DUI arrests won’t be released until Monday, officials said.

Although the CHP did not report any traffic deaths in Orange County over the New Year’s holiday, at least one O.C. resident died in a fatal car wreck on a surface street in Orange.

Roger LaSalle, 62, of Costa Mesa apparently lost control of his vehicle and careened into a utility pole on West Chapman Avenue at South Flower Street at 12:12 a.m. today, police said. The cause of his death is pending an autopsy; police say a medical condition may have been at least partly to blame.

Six of this year’s 20 traffic deaths in California reported by the CHP happened during a 12-hour period that began at 6 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

And 527 of the DUI arrests – or 59 percent – occurred during this same 12-hour period.

Related articles:

• CHP on NYE: Less Fatalities, More DUI Arrests than Last Year (laist.com)
• DUI Checkpoint in Downtown Tonight (laist.com)
• CHP to ‘Enhance’ Presence on Roads over Holiday Break (laist.com)

This entry was posted on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 2:56 am and is filed under DUI advice, DUI News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.