Sonoma County police seek to curb drunken driving over Fourth of July holiday

The campaign against drunken driving in Sonoma County over the Fourth of July weekend began in earnest Friday, with area police agencies putting all available officers on patrol.

The Highway 101 corridor, the Sonoma Coast and the Russian River are prime areas of concern, with holiday revelers pouring into the area to mark Independence Day and attend barbecues, festivals and fireworks shows.

“We know people are going to be out,” CHP Officer Juan Leon said. “They aren’t working, so they’re out driving and enjoying California.”

The holiday weekend is typically one of the busiest times of the year for law enforcement and emergency responders.

In 2015, local agencies reported more than 30 DUI arrests over the three-day weekend.

Most of those came from CHP officers, who detained 20 people on suspicion of driving under the influence.

“That’s a lot,” Leon said. “This is our designated maximum enforcement period, so that means that every available officer will be working the road.”

Santa Rosa police are planning five DUI saturation patrols throughout the weekend, plus two DUI checkpoints - one in Cloverdale and one in Healdsburg.

In 2015, Santa Rosa officers arrested seven people on suspicion of driving under the influence from July 3 to July 5, Sgt. Dan Hackett said.

Windsor and Sonoma officers reported two DUI arrests each during that same period, according to numbers from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Nationwide, from 2010 to 2014, 39 percent of all traffic deaths over the Fourth of July period occurred in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, according to Santa Rosa police. In 2014 alone, 397 people died over the holiday period in crashes, with more than 40 percent of the deaths linked to drunken driving.

In California, an average of six people are killed and 110 seriously injured in crashes over the holiday, police reported.

Ramping up patrols on festive weekends that often involve drinking is one way officers try to curb those numbers.

“We want to be in areas where there’s more traffic,” Leon said. “The department believes that if drivers see police officers they’re more likely to behave.”

You can reach Staff Writer Christi Warren at 521-5205 or christi.warren@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @SeaWarren.