According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were approximately 10,000 deaths around the country from drunk driving crashes each year from 2010 to 2014. In California, there were 882 such deaths during that time period. From Aug. 19 to Sept. 5, the Burlingame Police Department is part of a nationwide campaign to combat drunk driving. The campaign is known as Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, and it is part of an effort to educate and crack down on drunk driving.
There will be sobriety checkpoints and additional DUI patrols in an effort to deter drivers from operating a vehicle while impaired. Specifically, the Burlingame Police Department will be running DUI/drivers license checkpoints as well as roving DUI saturation patrols. It will be a joint effort between local police and the California Highway Patrol to look out for drivers showing signs of driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Over Labor Day weekend in 2014, 40 percent of traffic fatalities involved drunk drivers. The nighttime hours were especially dangerous with 83 percent of drunk driving fatalities occurring between 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. during that Labor Day Weekend. The average for the rest of the year was only 50 percent.
Drivers who are facing DUI charges may wish to consult with an attorney immediately in order to begin constructing a defense strategy. One such avenue could be mounting a challenge to the results of a breath test on the basis of the machine being improperly calibrated. Another could be a challenge to the constitutionality of the initial traffic stop itself.