Countywide : Highway Patrol Plans to Be Out in Force Over Fourth of July Weekend

The California Highway Patrol, anticipating what could be the heaviest-ever traffic jams on Orange County roads and freeways this Fourth of July weekend, has initiated a “maximum enforcement period” beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday and continuing through midnight Sunday.

“We’ll have 85% of our total personnel on duty during that time,” CHP Officer Ken Daily said Thursday. Normal patrols use 50% of personnel, he added.

Daily said patrol efforts will be concentrated tonight on thoroughfares leading to and from the dozen fireworks displays scheduled at various sites around the county.

“People know that those shows will be crowded, and the tendency is to get there early to find a parking place,” Daily said. “Then there’s likely to be a lot of drinking while they’re waiting for the show to start, and when it breaks up, the trouble can begin.”

Records show that on July 4 last year, 72 people were arrested for driving under the influence by CHP officers in the Santa Ana district, 54 in the Westminster district and 31 in the San Juan Capistrano district.

In the Westminster CHP office, spokesman Larry Kenney said the San Diego Freeway and the main thoroughfares leading from there toward the beaches are expected to be bumper to bumper, especially during the hours just before and after the fireworks displays.

The 85% patrol deployment will be on a statewide basis, according to Capt. Steve Malone, and is part of what is called a Combined Accident Reduction Effort, particularly on such heavily traveled freeways as I-5, I-80, I-40 and I-15.

Malone said local traffic volumes are expected to be up somewhat throughout summer because of reduced travel to foreign countries, “so this could be our heaviest Fourth of July yet.”

While Orange County had only one fatal accident during last year’s July 4 holiday--from a crash on Ortega Highway--a total of 71 people died on California roads during the period.