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The California Highway Patrol has arrested 160 impaired drivers in the Bay Area since Thursday evening.
The number is up from the 2008 total of 123 during the same reporting period, which started Thursday at 6 p.m. and ended at 6 a.m. Sunday.
The CHP has not reported any fatalities in the Bay Area during their maximum enforcement period. The holiday enforcement period ended at midnight Sunday.
DUI arrests also have increased across California compared to last year. CHP officers have arrested 970 drunken drivers, up from 824 at this time in 2008.
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Before the deluge of posters clamoring for the publishing of suspects’ names arrives:
Those calling for release of suspect idetities should post their real names and not hide their bombastic protestations behind internet anonymity.
just saying…
The names, addresses, and mug shots of these criminals are public record and legitimate news. How many Americans have drunk drivers killed this year?
Why did you your self get arrested willy.
The arrests made by these officers are public info. Anyone can go to their local police department and ask to see the police log for over the weekend.
Would be nice to see palo alto online exercise it’s rights, and publish these names.
The Daily Post did print the names and hometowns of those arrested in a recent Menlo Park checkpoint. There were three DUI arrests, and 19 Driving-without-a-license arrests. All, save one of those, seemed to have Hispanic surnames, and were likely illegal immigrants.
Some cities have cancelled these checkpoints because of the high number of illegals issued citations for no driver’s licences and the low number of drunk drives that have wandered into the checkpoint.
I find it disturbingly hilarious that some of these posters are crying for the names of drunk drivers. Are these the same people who hide behind anonymity on a community message board? Have these people never made any mistakes in their lives? I’ll feel like these demands to know the names of alleged drunk drivers hold water the minute those demanding don’t, too, hide themselves. Is there any more courage and responsibility left in this town?
There is a big difference between terrorizing public streets and whining on the internet.
I have done nothing wrong and deserve my right to my privacy.
Committing a crime is rewarded by loosing your right to your privacy.
Committing a DUI is one crime that should be shared with as many people as possible. If one is made to feel guilty or ashamed they are less likely to do it again.
In a family oriented community like PA parents and kids need to know about drunk drivers to protect their safety.
We cannot have hidden alcoholics driving our kids nor members of the PAPD hiding their DUIs.
Our question is about those intoxicated by pot, if they have a medical MJ certificate does that give them a free pass for driving while impaired?, we hope not, what is the local police policy in these matters?
We have much higher tolerance for DUI that most other countries, that is OK, but the PAPD and EMTs need to be held to Zero tolerance.
The terrorist act in Detroit on Christmas means the PAPD and EMTs need to be alert and sober 24/7 for the duration, the US Navy and our troops in the Mid East have that rule.
“Would be nice to see palo alto online exercise it’s rights, and publish these names.”
I suppose if PA Online agreed with the agenda of DUI name/address publication they could do so.
It’s one thing for information to be part of the public record. It’s another thing for a newspaper, an individual, or a group to launch a campaign or agenda which could easily mutate into a lynch mob or a vendetta. For instance, just a few blocks away from my house a registered sex offender is living…..does that mean it’s OK for me to walk up and back on the sidewalk in front of his house carrying a sign warning all who see of the dangers I might perceive he poses?
Is there a state where it’s common practice to publish these DUI arrest information? If so, is there any proof that doing so reduces the incidence of DUI arrests or fatalities and injuries?
Or would such evidence only surface if such a campaign was conducted in a “family oriented community like PA”?
If members of the PAPD are actually hiding their DUI’s that is another thing. Is this just an accusation or is there even any indirect proof? If so one would think that a scandal worthy of exposure.
The recent terrorist attack OVER Detroit neither proves nor disproves anything that wasn’t already a reality. To me it mainly proves that when a noted person in Nigeria goes into the US Embassy and tries to notify us about his son posing a danger that should have set off all sorts of bells and whistles. That would be a better fix than making sure that everyone who might remotely be involved in some capacity across the entire country be sober 24/7—even on their day off when they are at a party at their own house or have a designated driver! What’s next—healthcare workers, hospital workers in general? All National Guard troops who might conceivably be called up? Red Cross workers on their days off?
Had this one terrorist succeeded the tragic result would have been probably a bad plane crash with loss of life on the ground. The damage would already have been done, the perp also killed in the attack. What possible good would it have done for some state trooper in Maine to be on his day off and be liable for sanctions for a holiday toast? Or a CA CHP to be on the beach with his family on a Sunday off and get cited for drinking a beer?
Do you really think the entire country is a war zone and all officers and emergency personnel are essentially enlisted in the service?
I know people want to spin the terrorist threat to fit their pre agendas—be it illegal immigration or to market products and services. But this is too much.
I am reminded of when President Lincoln heard reports of General Grants drinking and his suggestion was to perhaps supply his other generals with cases of liquor if they would fight as well (Grant drank when away from his family–the solution was that his wife stayed with him during the campaigns).
Since erratic driving is the reason drunk driving is a crime, I have always been convinced that the best use of police is observing traffic to select those driving erratically. Besides catching drunks, this also catches the sleeping or texting or incompetent drivers.
Moose,
I’ve never seen eye to eye with you on a lot of issues, but this time, I have to agree with you 100%
There does not need to be any additional shame attached to a DUI conviction. In many professions, including my own, one DUI will end your career. That’s plenty of incentive not to drink and drive.
SO NEXT TIME JUST HIT THE PIPE
According to the Mercury-News: “About 2,500 people were killed by drunken drivers while roughly 59,000 more were injured in California from 2007 to 2008, state figures show.” http://www.mercurynews.com/search/ci_14089044
If existing DUI penalties were sufficient, this carnage would not be happening. If printing the names and pictures of the criminals helps to save lives, then by all means do it.
Maybe convicted DUI offenders could be publicly put in stocks and the enraged citizenry could come and throw eggs at them, yell profanities, etc. Why stop with just publishing their names?
By Bill’s logic then one could look at the murder stats also. If it seems that convicting murderers and sentencing them to either life imprisonment or executing them makes no difference in reducing the murder rate….why not publicly torture them pre execution and also execute their family members?
Who knows, it might save lives.
During Prohibition, the majority of people obeyed the law and didn’t drink. Alcoholism and related incidents were actually way down (hard to compare driving stats from 1920’s to today).
If you realy want to dramatically reduce drunk driving, just advocate for a return to Prohibition.
I’m not for it, but if that’s your ultimate goal…..
In the past few years getting a DUI is a way bigger offense than it used to be.
I just saw an article the other day that highway fatalities have been 40% reduced from years past.