Napa County Cracks Down on Drunk Drivers

Local police are teaming up with law enforcement agencies across the nation to take part in the “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest” crackdown through Jan. 3.

“Avoid the 9 — Napa County” law enforcement agencies will staff a checkpoint in the city of Napa, host a multi-agency task force operation in Napa County and 12 local DUI patrols in every community in Napa County. CHP will deploy 80 percent of all available officers during the four-day Christmas and New Years holiday weekends.

In 2008, 1,007 people were arrested for DUI in Napa County and there were 11 DUI-related deaths with 139 DUI-related injuries.

The campaign is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information visit www.californiaavoid.org or www.Stopimpaireddriving.org.

A similar program, Avoid the 13, is underway in Sonoma County, with officers from 13 agencies participating.

“We continue to see far too many people suffer debilitating injuries and loss of their loved ones as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop,” said Rich Melton, Chief of the Napa Police Department. “To help ensure that this happens, the Avoid the 9 partners are dedicated to arresting impaired driving. To help, we ask everyone; ‘Report Drunk Drivers, Call 9-1-1!”

Nine law enforcement agencies are members of “Avoid the 9 — Napa County:” St. Helena Police Department, Calistoga Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Napa Police Department, Napa County Sheriff’s Department, American Canyon Police Department, the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Napa County Probation and the Napa Valley College Police.

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