Northern California DUI Arrest Holiday Update

The ‘Avoid the 21’ crackdown on drunk driving in Alameda County has reported a drop in the number of arrests for driving under the influence in California. 708 arrests were tallied through midnight Christmas Eve, compared to 847 at that time last year. The campaign is named for the 21 law enforcement agencies conducted the CA DUI crackdown. ‘Avoid the 21’ started December 12 and ends New Year’s Day.

San Francisco has a similar campaign titled ‘Avoid the 14’, and it runs during the same time as Alameda County’s effort. Through midnight Friday, law enforcement reported 85 arrests for suspicion of drunk driving in San Francisco, a slight increase over last year. So far this season there have been no traffic fatalities attributable to alcohol.

Sonoma County also reported a decrease in California DUI arrests, from 165 last year to 143 this year.

The California Highway Patrol has said that DUI arrests are down statewide this holiday season by more than a third. Through Friday, CHP officers attributed for 48 of the arrests for DUI in the Bay Area, a steep drop from the 164 arrests made in 2007.

Were you arrested for DUI in Northern CA?