LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The California Highway Patrol will be cracking down on impaired driving in Los Angeles and across the state beginning tonight as part of a stepped-up Memorial Day weekend enforcement effort.
The CHP's ``maximum enforcement period'' begins at 6 p.m. and ends at 11:59 p.m. Monday, and during this time all available officers will be deployed to catch DUI offenders and other traffic violators, including those who fail to use their safety belts.
``As the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day weekend is a busy time on California roadways,'' CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. ``It only takes two seconds to buckle up. Wearing a seat belt is such a simple task to keep you and your passengers safe. Remember, it is also the law.''
About 70 percent of the vehicle occupants who died in CHP jurisdiction in the 2016 and 2017 Memorial Day holiday weekends were not wearing seat belts, Stanley said.
A total of 45 people died statewide in Memorial Day weekend collisions in 2017; 39 during the period in 2016. During those weekends, there were 921 arrests in California for driving under the influence in 2017 and 1,065 in 2016.
Motorists were also reminded to protect child passengers by placing them in age-appropriate restraint devices, whether in a safety seat or booster seat.
The CHP traffic safety campaign will coincide with sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols planned by various local law enforcement organizations.