Crime & Safety
County-Wide DUI Enforcement Effort Kicks Off Friday
Avoid the 25 means exactly what it says as 25 Contra Costa County law enforcement agencies keep a sharp eye peeled for drunk drivers.
Law enforcement agencies in Contra Costa County will be joining nearly 10,000 of their counterparts across the country Friday in an annual summer anti-drunken driving campaign, sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee said.
The campaign, known locally as Avoid the 25 in a reference to the 25 law enforcement agencies taking part throughout Contra Costa County, will consist of checkpoints, roving DUI patrols and a multi-agency DUI task force.
The 18-day campaign will run through the Labor Day weekend and will be carried out on and off highways, Lee said.
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In Contra Costa County, 50 patrol officers will be specifically targeting drunken drivers; with two enforcement sweeps planned to arrest drivers with outstanding DUI warrants; and an anti-DUI task force will focus on Interstate Highway 680 corridor on Sept. 3.
The first of several checkpoints scheduled to take place throughout the campaign will first appear in Concord on Saturday, followed by others in Brentwood and El Cerrito on Aug. 26 and one in Martinez on Sept. 1.
Find out what's happening in Lamorindawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 10,839 people died in crashes in 2009 in which a driver was at or above the legal limit for alcohol.
One person was killed while the Avoid the 25 enforcement program was underway last summer, Lee said.
Bay City News Service
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