A holiday law enforcement campaign aimed at keeping impaired drivers off the road netted 144 drunk or doped up drivers around Sonoma County, officials said Wednesday.
The arrest yield for the 19-day campaign was slightly lower than last year's 163, but the period ended without a single alcohol-related fatality, said Petaluma Police Sgt. Ken Savano, coordinator of the Avoid the 13 effort.
All 13 law enforcement agencies around the county participate in the campaign, which includes operations focused on and around celebrations when drinking and driving injuries and fatalities statistically occur most. The next one will be centered around Super Bowl XLVII, on Feb. 3.
The campaign includes checkpoints, saturation patrols and an overall emphasis on looking for those who are driving while under the influence, Savano said.
The majority of winter season arrests occurred on weekends, including 29 on the weekend of Dec. 15-17; 34 the weekend of Dec. 21-23, and 34 last weekend, Savano said.
There were 15 arrests on Jan. 1 alone - 10 just by the CHP - most of them in the early morning hours after midnight New Year's Eve, Savano said.
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