CHP’s Annual Labor Day Weekend Crackdown Starts Friday

(CNS) – California Highway Patrol officers will be ramping up operations on highways and roads throughout Riverside County starting Friday to catch drunken and drug-impaired drivers, as part of the agency’s annual Labor Day weekend enforcement campaign.

The "maximum enforcement period" will get underway at 6 p.m. Friday and conclude at 11:59 p.m. Monday.

All available officers from the Beaumont, Blythe, Indio, Riverside and Temecula stations will deploy for targeted crackdowns.

"Alcohol- and drug-impaired driving continues to be a leading cause of traffic fatalities and injuries in California, and the moment an impaired driver gets behind the wheel, they put themselves and every other person on the road in great danger," CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said.

"The CHP is committed to enforcement and non-enforcement strategies, including education and community engagement, to ensure the highest level of safety for everyone traveling throughout California during the holiday."

During the 2021 Labor Day weekend MEP, officers statewide arrested 985 motorists on suspicion of driving under the influence, compared to 900 taken into custody during the same period in 2020.

Forty-three people died in wrecks throughout California over Labor Day weekend 2021, the agency said.

Officials noted that with most CHP officers and sergeants certified as "drug recognition experts," or DREs, they will be better equipped to spot motorists under the influence of marijuana and other drugs.

In addition to the CHP, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and multiple municipal law enforcement agencies will be conducting anti-DUI patrols countywide.

The efforts coincide with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ongoing "Drive Sober, or Get Pulled Over" campaign nationwide.

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