Monrovia Police Plan Drunk Driving Crackdown on Friday

Officers from the Monrovia Police Department's DUI Enforcement Team will be deploying this weekend to stop and arrest alcohol and drug-impaired drivers in the Department's ongoing traffic safety campaign. DUI Saturation Patrols will deploy on Friday, January 25, 2013, between the hours of 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. in areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and/or arrests.

"This is a 'Zero Tolerance' crackdown, so Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over!"

In California, this deadly crime led to 774 deaths in 2010 because someone failed to designate a sober driver.

After falling dramatically for five straight years, figures for 2011 indicate that DUI deaths remained the same as 2010. Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have resulted in 33 injury crashes in Monrovia, harming 45 of our friends and neighbors.

DUI can impact the economy, in addition to the pain and suffering of those immediately affected. Conservatively, a fatality has a $1.4 million impact, an injury $70,000, and a crash that only damages property averages nearly $9,000.

"California's roadways are very much safer than they were before 2006," said OTS Director Christopher J. Murphy. "The Monrovia Police Department will be keeping the pressure on through enforcement and public awareness so that we can continue saving lives and reach the vision we all share – Toward zero deaths, every 1 counts."

Funding for this program is from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Report Drunk Drivers, Call 911!

Source: Monrovia Police Department press release

- Brad Haugaard