Police Out in Force for Drunk Drivers

It’s time for a New Year and an old fear--drunk drivers.

Police will deploy about 25 motorcycle officers--more than double the usual number--from 6 p.m. Saturday to 3 a.m. Sunday to arrest drunk drivers, said Valley Traffic Sgt. Paul Modrell. Although society has become less tolerant of drunk drivers, Modrell said of the New Year’s weekend, “it’s still a very dangerous time.”

“We still have a lot of people killed and injured.”

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), meanwhile, has made arrangements with two private companies to act as designated drivers.

Both Prime Time Shuttle (818-504-3600) and United Independent Taxi (1-800-822-8294) will take calls from party-goers requiring transportation from bars, taverns and restaurants to their homes at no charge. Prime Time will operate throughout the Valley, but United Independent Taxi will aid callers only in sections of the east San Fernando Valley.

Neither company will transport drinkers from one party to another nor will it provide a driver for the caller’s vehicle. It may take as long as 40 minutes for the rides to arrive.

Last New Year’s Eve, about 200 people made initial calls for assistance, but only 80 took advantage of the service, according to Karen Cullie, executive director of the Los Angeles County chapter of MADD in North Hollywood.

“Some people didn’t want to wait, and some people expected that someone else would drive their cars home,” Cullie said. “We don’t drive their cars home. We’re here to save lives.”

Sgt. Modrell said more than 100 restaurants and bars in the Valley have volunteered to participate in a designated driver program. They will give free nonalcoholic drinks to each group’s designated driver and offer to call for a cab, though the passengers will be required to pay for the trip.