Upcoming DUI saturation patrols planned in Modesto

Officers from the Modesto Police Department’s DUI Enforcement Team will be deploying this weekend through early next week to stop and arrest alcohol and drug-impaired drivers in the department’s ongoing traffic safety campaign.

DUI saturation patrols will deploy from Friday through Wednesday between the hours of 6 p.m.-2 a.m. in areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and/or arrests.

High Visibility Enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.

Studies of California drivers have shown that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems. A study of active drivers showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving, 14 percent, than did for alcohol, 7.3 percent. Of the drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than alcohol.

Everyone should be mindful that if you’re taking medication – whether prescription or over-the-counter – drinking even small amounts of alcohol can greatly intensify the impairment affects.

This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Upcoming DUI saturation patrols planned in Modesto."