CHP Arrests 558 Drunk Drivers Over Holiday
Over the four-day Christmas holiday, the California Highway Patrol arrested 558 suspected drunk drivers in Los Angeles County, compared to 560 arrests over the period in 1989. Sixteen people were killed in Los Angeles County traffic accidents this holiday period.
The statistics, released by CHP spokesman Steve Munday, covered a holiday reporting period that began at 6 p.m. Friday and ended at midnight Tuesday.
Munday said tougher drunk-driving laws and beefed-up law enforcement efforts against impaired motorists may have kept traffic fatalities down this year.
He said cold temperatures, especially during the first two days of the holiday, also kept some people off the roads.
This was the first Christmas since the Legislature lowered to 0.08% from 0.10% the blood-alcohol level at which drivers are considered legally drunk.
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