This Memorial Day Weekend has seen an increase in the number of people traveling by car this year, an increase in effort by police agencies across the country with planned DUI checkpoints, and the results of their effort have already proven an increase in suspected DUI arrests by Law Enforcement Nationwide.
According to a statement released by the Agency Saturday, the California Highway Patrol in the San Diego region has seen an uptick in arrests this year, when compared to the same timeframe in 2017 over the Memorial Holiday weekend.
The Agency further stated that CHP officers in their district have arrested 24 people for suspected drunken driving violations in the county from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday. As their officers have reported, they had made 17 arrests of individuals for Dui in the same area and same 24-hour period last year in 2017.
Across the state, in during this same period, there were 5 fatal traffic accidents reported by agencies throughout California. The CHP reported that Statewide the total arrested on suspected driving while intoxicated, starting from Friday late afternoon, was currently at 276 people at press time. Many people celebrating the 3 day weekend partake in binge drinking and then get behind the wheel putting themselves and others at risk.
In a recent article from Time Magazine, posted on their website, reports that Law Enforcement Agencies across the country have stated a similar increase in the suspected DUI’s in their individual municipalities, when compared to the stats from 2017.
AAA has long been the authority on the habits of the American people when it comes to travel, whether it be in country or abroad or by whatever mode of transportation might be chosen. They released their projections for the holiday travel last week, predicting that there will be approximately 36.6 million on the road this holiday weekend, which is up 4.5 percent from last year’s estimates.
The travel Association further reports that the higher price of gasoline, currently seen across the country, will do little to deter the numbers of travelers on the roads this Memorial Day weekend. According to AAA’s analysis teams, this could result in holiday revelers experiencing over 3 times the auto congestion normally felt on the Nation’s highways.
Memorial Day marks the day Americans pay tribute to the Nation’s fallen heroes and reflect on the Liberty and Freedoms endowed to them by their sacrifice. The holiday weekend has also become a symbolic kickoff to summer, and the start of the millions of vacationers that will hit the road in the coming months. This makes it one of the highest risk travel periods of any given year, based on the sheer number of additional cars on the roads, the added risk of DUI’s increasing over the weekend puts it in the Top 3 riskiest days.
ValuePenguin.com places Memorial Day weekend at the highest on its list of DUI’s. It has monitored, collected and analyzed the data regarding American holidays and that relation to safety on the nation’s highways for years now. The graph below breaks down the statistics by Holiday.
Law Enforcement Agencies across the country have collectively pushed forth an aggressive taskforce to curb the risk to travelers with their DUI checkpoints and with constant outreach to the community, by making the public aware of the dangers and the consequences of driving while intoxicated. Those arrested over the holiday weekend may be advised to enter a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, in some cases the individual can avoid jail if they attend a rehab.
Source : The Recover Newsroom