CHP Memorial Day Weekend Maximum Enforcement Begins

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA?California Highway Patrol officers will begin their Maximum Enforcement Period for holiday drivers starting Friday through Monday, the agency announced. The concentrated operation will focus on Riverside County highways, freeways, and roads as part of a Memorial Day weekend campaign to snare drunken and other unsafe drivers.

The operation was slated to begin at 6 p.m. Friday, as CHP will begin its "maximum enforcement period" holiday weekend. During this period, all available officers will hit the streets to catch impaired motorists and other traffic violators. The crackdown will conclude at 11:59 p.m. Monday.

"Our top priority is keeping the public safe, not just during the holidays but daily," agency Commissioner Sean Duryee said. "Buckling up is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect yourself and your passengers in a crash. Our officers will be out in force to help everyone arrive at their destination safely."

The deployment will involve officers from the Beaumont, Blythe, Indio, Riverside, and Temecula CHP stations.

During Memorial Day weekend in 2024, enforcement operations, the CHP arrested roughly 1,100 motorists on suspicion of drunken or drug-impaired driving, comparable to the number taken into custody in 2023. Forty-two vehicle occupants were killed in collisions investigated by the CHP and other agencies during the 2024 effort -- four below the number who died in 2023.

The MEP will coincide with sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols planned in a number of municipalities, and in unincorporated communities countywide patrolled by sheriff's deputies.

Duryee said seatbelt safety will be among priorities, as the CHP joins the nationwide "Click It or Ticket" campaign sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"As always, the CHP urges everyone to make smart choices behind the wheel: Buckle up. Drive sober. Stay alert," he said. "If you plan to drink or use drugs, arrange for a safe ride home before heading out. Your safety and that of others depend on it."