SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Driving under the influence arrests have dropped noticeably in cities where ride sharing programs have expanded, a new study says.
An analysis performed by Moll Law Group and the University of California says DUI arrests in San Diego dropped 32% from 2015 to 2016.
The study also looked at four other major cities with declines in California: 28% in San Jose, 26% in Sacramento, 14% for Los Angeles and the San Francisco-Oakland area.
“We still seeing quite a few impaired people, they’re just not sitting in the front seat,” said Mark McCullough with San Diego Police Department’s traffic division.
McCullough says the declining trend began a few a years ago when more new forms of transportation became available.
“Five years ago we’d run a DUI checkpoint on a Friday night and we’d arrest 20 people and up,” said McCullough, “now on any given Friday if we arrest 10-15 people that’s a busy night for us.”
Experts believe there may be other reasons behind the figures declining, but it’s still a number they don’t mind going down.
“You’re not using your brain to your full potential if you get arrested for a DUI,” said McCullough, “there are just so many forms of alternative transportation.”
