DUI Patrols Upped For Halloween Night

Halloween partiers who venture out on to the streets will face additional police patrols Wednesday evening as part of an effort to keep impaired drivers from driving.

"Keep the party off the road," is the message the task force wants to get across to costumed revelers this year.

The Orange County Sheriff's Department will be deploying additional deputies and supplementing routine patrols in several communities in the county.

“Local revelers should be aware that their Halloween disguises won't make them invisible to the police, sheriff or CHP officers who will crack down on drunk and drug impaired drivers throughout the region with an aggressive Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over enforcement effort,” said OCSD Deputy Wayne Howard.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 41 percent of all highway fatalities in the country during the 2010 Halloween period (from 6 p.m. Oct. 29 to 6 a.m. Nov. 1) involved a driver or a motorcyclist with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. 

“The scariest parts of Halloween aren’t the spooky costumes and scary pranks,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “It’s the fact that too often drivers don’t plan ahead and end up turning reality into something much worse than a horror movie.”

To keep safe this Halloween, the Avoid DUI Task Force recommends these simple tips:

• Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin.

• Taking medication or using drugs can impair your driving. Never mix drugs with alcohol.

• Before drinking, designate a sober driver and leave your car keys at home.

• If you’re impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation to get home safely.

• If you see a drunk driver on the road, call 911.