CHP Begins 10-Month Crackdown On Drunken Driving

The California Highway Patrol announced Wednesday it will implement a 10-month Driving Under the Influence program.

The program, which begins on Dec. 1 and is funded by a federal grant , will target impaired drivers along a 45.3-mile segment of Interstate 15 (I-15) in Riverside County, the major access route between the coast and inland populations.

“This grant will help to fund an aggressive enforcement and education campaign that will support our effort to remove impaired drivers from the roadway,” said CHP Capt. Ernie Sanchez, commander of the Temecula Area office.  “Too many people are being killed or seriously injured because of a drunk or drugged driver.”

During the course of 10-month periods (December 1, 2007, and September 30, 2010), an average of four people were killed and 63 were injured in alcohol-involved collisions, according to authorities.

This traffic safety effort will also include a task force comprising of the CHP, Lake Elsinore, Murrieta and Temecula Police Departments, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Caltrans-District 8, County Supervisor Jeff Stone, and local residents.