200+ People Arrested Countywide in DUI Crackdown

More than 200 motorists were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence throughout Riverside County during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, according to final figures released Monday.

The "Avoid the 30" task force -- named for the number of area police agencies involved -- conducted saturation patrols and staffed sobriety checkpoints from Wednesday morning to Sunday night as part of its annual Independence Day crackdown.

The anti-DUI campaign coincided with the California Highway Patrol's "maximum enforcement period," during which all available officers hit the streets to nab impaired drivers, speeders and other traffic violators.

According to Riverside police Sgt. Skip Showalter, the Avoid coordinator, 203 people were arrested countywide for alleged DUI between Wednesday and Sunday. There were 60 arrests during the 2012 Fourth of July Avoid campaign, but that effort lasted only two days because the holiday fell midweek.

A checkpoint held in Rancho Mirage as a part of the campaign did not result in any DUI arrests, though.

The next Avoid campaign will begin in mid-August and last through Labor Day weekend.

– City News Service.