Willow Glen Resident
News
Too much partying, time to call a taxi
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
The holiday season's annual countywide "Avoid the 13" crackdown on drunken driving has two objectives: to keep the streets safe during the holidays and to make sure people arrive at their destinations safely.
"Avoid the 13" refers to the original 13 Santa Clara County law enforcement agencies that started the campaign against drunken driving in 1973.
As of Dec. 19 the police had made 197 arrests, compared to last year's 177 arrests during the same time period, said Jan Ford, the Santa Clara County campaign's public information director. Since the start of the campaign, there have also been two DUI-related fatalities.
"Our goal is to reduce the amount of arrests and injuries,"
Ford said. " We just want the people to get the message."
This year's "Avoid the 13" kicked off on Dec. 16 with a DUI collision that involved two San Jose police cars and a drunken driver.
The police officers had pulled over a car on a routine traffic stop near the intersection of Bascom and Camden avenues at 12:45 a.m. when a second car driven by a drunken driver crashed into one of the parked patrol cars. The force of the collision pushed the police car into the second police car. The officers and the driver who had initially been stopped all jumped off the sidewalk and into the shrubs to avoid injury. One officer was hospitalized for back pain and released. The drunken driver was arrested.
Ford said avoiding a DUI is simple; just drive sober.
When a person goes to a party, he or she plans everything out, Ford said, including what to wear and how much money to take. The party-goer needs to add one more thing: how to get home.
"A slick way to do it is by taking a cab," Ford said. "That way, it takes the temptation out of driving home after drinking."
It might sound like a pricey option with all the holiday parties, but it's a bargain compared to the alternative, Ford said.
"Just think about the $10,000 in court fees it will cost you if you drink and drive," she added.
Sober drivers also have a responsibility when they get behind the wheel. The drivers should make sure everyone is buckled up. This will reduce injuries in a DUI crash by half, Ford said.
Police officers in the Bay Area's nine counties arrested 599 DUI drivers in the first three days of the campaign.
Police in Santa Clara County posted an 8 percent increase in DUI arrests during the campaign's first weekend.
The campaign concludes Dec. 31, and officers will go back to their assigned cities to cover street patrol and parties, Ford said.
"If you see a driver all over the road, hand your cell phone to a passenger and dial 911 and turn them in," she said.
When contacting the police, the caller will need to know the direction the car is traveling and a description of the vehicle, but Ford warns to keep a good distance from the reckless driver.
"Leave that to those with badges and guns," she said.
