LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A grant-funded enforcement program will assist the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office this month in stepping up its efforts to reduce the number of drunk drivers on Lake County’s roads.
Local CHP officials said that, beginning Wednesday, Aug. 1, and continuing through Friday, Aug. 31, its officers will be out in force thanks to the state-wide, grant-funded enforcement program known as “Impaired Driving Enforcement and Apprehension (IDEA) DUI Grant,” which focuses on impaired drivers.
“People who drive while impaired dramatically increase their chances of being involved in a crash injuring – even killing – our families and friends. That's why the Clear Lake Area CHP is out in force conducting the ‘IDEA’ DUI enforcement program,” said Clear Lake Area Commander Lt. Greg Baarts.
“By increasing the number of officers on patrol and targeting locations where collisions are frequently occurring, we are working hard to make Lake County a safer place,” he added.
Lt. Baarts said motorists are encouraged to assist in this effort by reporting drunk drivers.
“If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely,” Baarts said.
CHP Officer Kory Reynolds told Lake County News that local efforts to combat drunk driving are showing results.
From January through the end of this July, there have been 117 DUI arrests, compared with 146 DUI arrests for the same time period in 2011, Reynolds said. That’s a nearly 20-percent decrease.
Reynolds said the IDEA DUI grant covers overtime hours for the agency’s 16 local officers, allowing them more time to have a presence in local communities.
The grants can help them build up during maximum enforcement periods – such as Memorial Day, July 4, Thanksgiving and New Year’s – or other times as the hours are needed, he said.
Reynolds said DUI arrests also have been down during those maximum enforcement periods.
CHP officers also assist other agencies with events, such as backing up Lakeport Police during the city’s July 4 celebration. He said CHP officers on foot patrol helped remind those who had been drinking not to drive.
He thinks that presence is “a big part” of helping keep drunk drivers off the roads in the first place.
Funding for the program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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