Cops Get Lots of Cash to Go After Local Drunks This Holiday Season
Categories: DrunkSF
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| That just looks boring |
SFPD got an early Christmas gift -- $106,000 -- from the state, money that will be used to help officers pick intoxicated drivers off the roads.
"Driving under the Influence affects all of us with its injuries and fatalities. We should do more to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs," says Capt. Denis O'Leary.
In case you forgot, drinking and driving is still among America's deadliest crimes; In 2010, 791 people were killed and over 24,000 injured in alcohol- and drug-impaired crashes in California. In 2011 in San Francisco, 27 were killed in tragic DUI-related crashes while 1,796 people were injured.
According to the SFPD, alcohol-related crashes drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted regularly. Checkpoints are also cost-effective -- $6 is saved for every $1 spent.
"DUI checkpoints have been an essential part of the phenomenal reduction in DUI deaths that we witnessed from 2006 to 2010 in California," said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the Office of Traffic Safety. "But since the tragedy of DUI accounts for nearly one third of traffic fatalities, San Francisco needs the high visibility enforcement and public awareness that this grant will provide."
So consider this your friendly reminder not to drink too much Wild Turkey on Turkey Day this year.
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