Holiday DUI Crackdown Totals 971 OC Arrests

Orange County law enforcement's holiday driving crackdown resulted in 971 DUI arrests, according to the Sheriff's Department.

The city, county and state agencies involved in the Avoid the 38 campaign, which took place from Dec. 14 to Jan. 1, used sobriety checkpoints, special saturation patrols and routine patrols in its effort to curb impaired driving. The campaign's name refers to the number of agencies taking part.

According to the Sheriff's Department, last year's arrest total was 836. As during last year, there were no DUI deaths in Orange County during the campaign dates, though the figures for this campaign are provisional, says the department; some agencies have yet to report.

Law enforcement is already planning for more such operations—during Super Bowl Sunday in February and then again for  St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in March.

Grant funding for the holiday program was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which contends that sobriety checkpoint programs can yield cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.