Arrests for Drunk Driving Decline

Drunk-driving arrests for the Christmas weekend were the lowest in at least seven years, the California Highway Patrol reported Monday.

During a maximum-enforcement period that began at 6 p.m. Thursday and ended at midnight Sunday, there were 24 arrests for driving under the influence in Ventura County, said Officer David Webb. During the three-day Christmas weekend in 1990, there were 43 drunk-driving arrests, he said.

Ten people were arrested for driving under the influence on county roads during the Christmas holiday in 1991, but the maximum-enforcement period lasted only a day and a half, Webb said.

Numbers of traffic accidents and fatalities also were down from the same period in 1990, he said. Two people died and 13 were injured in traffic accidents two years ago, compared to no deaths and eight injuries this year, Webb said.

For the upcoming New Year’s Eve weekend, maximum enforcement will be from 6 p.m. Thursday through midnight Saturday, Webb said. “That is one of the hardest weekends, because we all know what New Year’s Eve means.”