Drunk Driving Arrests Down Over Last Year

The California Highway Patrol saw fewer drunk drivers on the road in the agency's Riverside area this holiday weekend than last year, according to preliminary statistics released by the agency Monday.

There were only 15 arrests for driving under the influence in eastern Riverside County over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, compared to 19 during the same period a year ago, according to Officer Joe Zagorski.

The holiday period -- from 6:01 p.m. Wednesday through midnight Monday morning -- was a Maximum Enforcement Period for the CHP. Officers were on the roads looking for drunk drivers, and enforcing the state's seat belt law as part of the "Click It or Ticket" campaign.

There was one fatal crash in the eastern end of the county, which is patrolled by the Indio station. Numbers from the Cabazon station, which patrols the Pass area, were not available Monday.

One fatality was reported in the Coachella Valley area, and only 15 collisions.

"Motorists were warned prior to the weekend the CHP would be out in force during the holiday weekend, with officers focused on locating impaired drivers and enforcing traffic laws," Zagorski said. "The decline in traffic collisions and DUI arrests in the Indio CHP's area can be attributed to the visible presence and focused enforcement efforts of the CHP officers, which the Indio area had patrolling the roads this holiday weekend."

Meanwhile, in western Riverside County, there were 41 people arrested for driving under the influence, down from 47 in 2010.

There were also fewer tickets given. Officers issued 496 tickets, down from 672 the year before.