Busy Weekend For The CHP
Sacramento, CA– This Memorial Day weekend the number of vehicle accidents statewide increased while DUI arrests were down.
That’s according to the CHP that says this year in California, officers arrested 1,367 drivers on suspicion of driving under the influence compared to 1,541 for the same period last year.
In Calaveras County, CHP Officer Rebecca Myers says the San Andreas CHP wrote 49 citations. While the majority of citations were for speeding, there were also several mechanical violations, one seat belt violation and one child restraint violation.
“We also had five arrests during our Maximum Enforcement Period between 6:00 pm Friday and 11:59 pm Sunday, said Myers. “Last year the San Andreas CHP arrested two people. Our officers also handled seven accidents compared to a total of five accidents last year. Fortunately we did not experience a fatality this weekend.”
Unlike the state statistics, Tuolumne County experienced a rise in DUI arrests. CHP Officer Mike Remmel says there were seven DUI arrests this year compared to four in 2010.
“But our accidents were down quite a lot, said Remmel. “We had six collisions this year with only two injuries, where as last year we had eight collisions with four injuries. Our citations were up approximately 25% including a large jump in seat belt citations.”
Remmel says in Tuolumne County there were more officers on the roadways this Memorial Day weekend compared to last year. He believes this was very helpful in making more DUI arrests.
Written by tina.falco@mlode.com
