San Jose officials are reporting that the annual AVOID the 13 DUI crackdown netted less DUI arrests this Christmas and New Year's season. Santa Clara County made just under 500 arrests of people on suspicion of driving under the influence, down from 557 last year and 632 in 2009. The Sheriff's Office believes that high DUI enforcement visibility acted as a deterrent, which included highly advertised sobriety and license checkpoints.
As of December 28, 2011, Santa Cruz reported a total of 30 DUI arrests and Morgan Hill totaled 18. All county local law enforcement agencies have noted a decrease in arrests this past holiday season and there were no deaths related to driving under the influence.
AVOID is an anti-DUI law enforcement program funded by grants from the Office of Traffic Safety. The program provides the framework to pull different law enforcement agencies from all participating counties to "cluster" together and clamp down on drunk driving. Santa Clara County was the first to participate in the DUI program in 1974. Forty one counties now participate in AVOID, which includes 540 law enforcement agencies.
Source: Morgan Hill Times
