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Drunken driving arrests are down in SJ this season
Police made 849 DUI arrests countywide from Dec. 14 to Jan. 1
By Kate Carter
The San Jose Police Department arrested 84 fewer drunk drivers this holiday season than last year.
Police spokesman officer Joseph Deras said the reduced number of arrests for driving under the influence shows that the department's campaign to crack down on drunk driving and spread the word about its dangers is working.
"We always find that these are successful operations," he said. "Of course, we'd like to get this number down to zero."
The department made 216 drunk-driving arrests between Dec. 14 and Jan. 1, he said, down from the 300 it made during the same time period last year. San Jose also had 13 alcohol-related injury accidents, he said, down one from last year's 14 injury accidents.
Deras said there were 849 drunk-driving arrests throughout Santa Clara County and one fatal alcohol-related collision reported by the Gilroy office of the California Highway Patrol.
The police department held two DUI checkpoints throughout the holiday season, Deras said. The first was held Dec. 14 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Jackson Avenue and McKee Road in East San Jose. The second was held Dec. 29 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Tully Road and McLaughlin Avenue in South San Jose.
Deras said police impounded 44 vehicles at the checkpoints and issued 37 citations to people driving with suspended licenses or without a license.
He said the department also assigned several officers to paid overtime three or four days a week during the three-week period to concentrate entirely on driving safety.
The San Jose police participate in the countywide Avoid the 13 campaign, in conjuntion with campaigns in San Mateo, Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
