The information below is brought to you by our San Bernardino DUI Lawyers:

Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk -Avoid the 25 DUI Task Force Deploying Roving Saturation Patrols Super Bowl Sunday

San Bernardino, – Sheriff Rod Hoops announced today that he is teaming up with the National Football League (NFL), California Office of Traffic Safety, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and law enforcement officials to remind everyone to designate a sober driver if they plan to be drinking alcohol on Super Bowl Sunday.

This Sunday, law enforcement is again asking for the public’s help. “Drunk driving is the top priority for the police, CHP, and sheriff’s deputies, but everyone who is hosting a party and serving drinks could have one of the best defenses there is against drunk drivers; a Designated Sober Driver,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops “We’re asking for our community’s help by planning for a Designated Sober Driver at every super bowl party long before kick off.”

Super Bowl Sunday is one of America’s biggest and most entertaining national sporting events as friends and families gather to socialize and watch the big game. Yet, it has also become one of the Nation’s most dangerous days on the roadways due to impaired driving. The Avoid the 25 San Bernardino DUI Task Force will be deploying DUI saturation patrols targeting those who drive impaired.

According to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2008, fatalities in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes accounted for 32 percent of all motor vehicle traffic fatalities. On Super Bowl Sunday 2008, 49 percent of the fatalities occurred in crashes where a driver or motorcycle rider had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08 or higher.

In California 11 people were killed Super Sunday 2009 and another 133 were injured in Alcohol Involved Collisions. Tragically, that is 3 times the daily average killed in California with alcohol as a factor and those injured were other twice the daily average.

“We continue to see far too many people hurt or killed as a result of impaired driving. Please do your part to stop this senseless crime,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “To help ensure that this happens, the Avoid the 25 partners are dedicated to arresting impaired driving. To help, we ask everyone; ‘Report Drunk Drivers, Call 911!’”

The following cities will have additional law enforcement personnel on patrol Super Bowl Sunday specifically to arrest drunk drivers: Victorville, Loma Linda, Yucaipa, Needles, Hesperia, Big Bear, Highland, Grand Terrace, 29 Palms, Yucca Valley, Redlands, Colton, Rialto, Barstow, Upland, Fontana, Chino and San Bernardino.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

If you are hosting a Super Bowl party:

• Remember, you can be held liable and prosecuted if someone you served ends up in an impaired-driving crash.
• Make sure all of your guests designate their sober drivers in advance, or help arrange ride-sharing with other sober drivers.
• Serve lots of food and include lots of non-alcoholic beverages at the party.
• Stop serving alcohol at the end of the third quarter of the game and begin serving coffee and dessert.
• Keep the numbers for local cab companies handy, and take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving while impaired.

If you are attending a Super Bowl party or watching at a sports bar or restaurant:

• Designate your sober driver before the party begins and leave your car keys at home.
• Avoid drinking too much alcohol too fast. Pace yourself—eat enough food, take breaks, and alternate with non-alcoholic drinks.
• If you don’t have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home; call a cab, friend, or family member to come and get you; or just stay where you are and sleep it off until you are sober.
• Never let a friend get behind the wheel of their vehicle if you think they are about to drive while impaired. Remember, Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk.
• Always buckle up – it’s still your best defense against other impaired drivers.

Refer: Dave Phelps, Sergeant
Station: San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
Phone No.: (909) 387-3700

ROD HOOPS, SHERIFF
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF-CORONER DEPARTMENT
c/o Public Affairs Division
655 East Third Street
San Bernardino, California 92415-0061
Telephone:  (909) 387-3700

Related articles:

• Be Safe on Superbowl Sunday (theplussizemommy.com)
• Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving (anneonlife.com)
• No More Shul In San Bernadino (lukeford.net)

According to the Los Angeles Daily Journal, thousands of cases (including DUI / Drunk Driving cases) in San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties may be impacted by a forensic alcohol analyst who was working for a private laboratory for over two years. The forensic alcohol analyst was fired in February, 2009. Apparently, this forensic alcohol analyst previously was not being truthful hundreds of times while working at a Colorado lab eight years ago. One county judge has ordered the private laboratory who has contracted to provide forensic alcohol analysis with San Deigo, Riverside and San Bernardino counties to provide a detailed list of thousands of cases the fired forensic alcohol analyst worked on while he was employed there. In addition, at least two county prosecutors offices have and are still compiling information on cases the fired forensic alcohol analyst was involved with.

If you need the services of an Orange County DUI attorney, call me – at (714) 568-1560.

Note:  The following is a press release from the San Bernardino Police Department regarding their upcoming DUI checkpoint, for people that might be in the area.  There is also a Riverside DUI Checkpoint the same evening, and the next scheduled DUI checkpoint for Orange County is April 23rd, 2009.

San Bernardino Police Department Targets Impaired Drivers with Checkpoint

Traffic Sgt. R. Lawhead explains that the San Bernardino Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, April 17, 2009 from 6:00 PM to 2:00 AM in the 2100 block E. Highland Ave., in San Bernardino.

This program is part of the Police Department’s effort to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes. DUI checkpoints are conducted to identify offenders and get them off the street, as well as educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving.

All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. This DUI/Drivers License checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as insuring drivers have a valid driver’s license.  A major component of these checkpoints is to increase awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and to encourage sober designated drivers.

A DUI checkpoint is a proven effective method for achieving this goal. By publicizing these enforcement and education efforts, the San Bernardino Police Department believes motorists can be deterred from drinking and driving.

Traffic volume and weather permitting, all vehicles may be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs will be arrested. Our objective is to send a clear message to those who are considering driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and/or drugs – Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest. The public is encouraged to help keep roadways safe by calling 911 if they see a suspected impaired driver.

Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.