With the World Series drama behind us, and no presidential visit in sight, San Francisco police can get back to business as usual, which includes nabbing your drunk ass after a night at the bar.
SFPD got an early Christmas gift -- $106,000 -- from the state, money that will be used to help officers pick intoxicated drivers off the roads.
"Driving under the Influence affects all of us with its injuries and fatalities. We should do more to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs," says Capt. Denis O'Leary.
The cops are putting together an aggressive DUI enforcement plan that will stretch over three holidays -- Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's -- and include sobriety checkpoints as well as more cops on the roads.
In case you forgot, drinking and driving is still among America's deadliest crimes; In 2010, 791 people
were killed and over 24,000 injured in alcohol- and drug-impaired
crashes in California. In 2011 in San Francisco, 27 were killed in tragic DUI-related crashes while 1,796 people were injured.
According to the SFPD, alcohol-related crashes drop by an average of
20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted regularly.
Checkpoints are also cost-effective -- $6 is saved
for every $1 spent.
"DUI checkpoints have been an essential part
of the phenomenal reduction in DUI deaths that we witnessed from 2006 to
2010 in California," said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the Office
of Traffic Safety. "But since the tragedy of DUI accounts for nearly
one third of traffic fatalities, San Francisco needs the high visibility
enforcement and public awareness that this grant will provide."
So consider this your friendly reminder not to drink too much Wild Turkey on Turkey Day this year.
