SAN DIEGO (KGTV/CNS) - The Thanksgiving holiday started off on the wrong foot as 27 people have been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving by California Highway Patrol officers during the first two nights of the CHP's Holiday Maximum Enforcement Period.
The CHP said the DUI arrests in San Diego County were made between Nov. 22 at 6 p.m. and Nov. 24 at 6 a.m. So far, only one fatality has been reported. During last year's Thanksgiving Holiday Maximum Enforcement Period, 21 DUI arrests were made in San Diego County and one fatality was reported.
Statewide, there have been 386 DUI arrests made by CHP officers during this year's enforcement period.
All available officers were to be deployed to catch drunken or drug-impaired drivers, speeders and other traffic violators during the holiday enforcement period.
The CHP urged drivers and their passengers to wear seatbelts, as the law mandates.
"Whether you are driving across the street or across the country for your Thanksgiving gathering, it is imperative to wear your seatbelt," CHP acting Commissioner Warren Stanley said. "Wearing a seatbelt is essential every day of the year, but we do not want to have festivities ruined as a result of people not buckling up for their trip."
The maximum enforcement period will coincide with the fifth annual nationwide "Interstate 40 Challenge: The Drive Toward Zero Fatalities," a campaign from Barstow to North Carolina. The idea was to have a law enforcement officer actively patrolling every 20-mile stretches of Interstate 40 all weekend.
There were no fatalities in the California portion of Interstate 40 during last year's challenge, according to the CHP.
The maximum enforcement period will conclude at 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
