Drunken Driving Crackdown in Santa Clara County For Halloween

The Avoid the 13 Santa Clara County DUI Task Force will be cracking down on drunken driving today, Thursday, Oct. 31 Halloween Day by deploying additional patrols throughout the region.

"The scariest part of Halloween is not the spooky costumes and scary pranks, it’s the impaired drivers. All too often, partygoers don’t plan ahead and choose to drive impaired, but a costume can’t disguise drunk driving,” said Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith in a press release.

Halloween is one of the deadliest holidays of the year on our roadways, according to law-enforcement authorities.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that from 2007-2011, 52 percent of all national fatalities occurring on Halloween night involved a drunk driver.

Males ages 21-34 comprised almost half of all drunk drivers who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide during the 2011 Halloween period.

It is the deadliest night for child pedestrians of any night of the whole year.

“If you celebrate with alcohol, you don’t belong behind the wheel.” Sheriff Laurie Smith said. “A sober and safe ride after the party is the best treat you can give yourself and everyone else on the road this Halloween.”

To keep safe this Halloween, the Avoid the 13 – Santa Clara County DUI Task Force recommends these tips:

• Before the Halloween festivities begin, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night.
• Always designate a sober driver.
• If you are impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation.
• Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home.
• Use public transportation, like VTA or Caltrain.
• If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement by calling 9-1-1.
• If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going. If you think you have to ask if they are okay to drive, you already know they’re not.