The Region - News from July 4, 1985

The California Highway Patrol will beef up its patrols by 25% in an effort to curb drunk drivers during the July 4 holiday weekend. People taking four-day trips in the record heat and comforting themselves with a cold beer are expected to increase the CHP workload, spokeswoman Jill Angel said in Los Angeles. Until midnight Sunday, three-fourths of the extra complement of officers will be exclusively on “drunk-driver watches,” looking only for erratic and reckless drivers, she said. The CHP will not set up any drunk-driver checkpoints, Angel said. During the last four-day July 4 weekend, in 1978, a record 86 people died on state highways. “We’re hoping to prevent another record,” Angel said.