Motorists Urged to Use Caution During Holidays

The California Highway Patrol and the Automobile Club of Southern California are offering this advise to holiday drivers: Drunk driving and drowsy driving can be deadly.

From 6:01 p.m. Friday through midnight Sunday, the CHP will maintain a maximum enforcement period, meaning that every available officer will be on the road.

During this time last year, the CHP arrested 997 drunk drivers statewide, including 226 in Los Angeles County. Twenty people died in car accidents, including two in Los Angeles County.

The CHP urges motorists to drive defensively, look out for pedestrians, provide ample travel time and make sure everyone is buckled up in a proper seat beat or car seat.

Besides drunk driving, being too tired can also be a problem for drivers.

A study released Tuesday from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that drowsy driving crashes are strongly related to sleeping less than six hours per night, being awake for 20 hours or longer, working more than one job and / or working night shifts and frequent driving between midnight and 6 a.m. The most dangerous time for drowsiness is in the early morning.

The Auto Club suggests travelers take these steps to avoid accidents: pack early enough to allow time for a normal night’s sleep, limit driving to 300 to 400 miles per day, avoid drugs that could cause drowsiness, keep your eyes moving from the left to right side of the road and stop the car every two hours and either run in place, do jumping jacks or simply breathe deeply.