Modesto police to deploy DUI patrols next two Saturdays

Officers from the Modesto Police Department’s DUI Enforcement Team will be looking for alcohol- and drug-impaired drivers this Saturday and next.

DUI patrols will deploy Saturday and June 18 starting at 7:30 p.m. and continuing until 3:30 a.m. the next day in areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and/or arrests.

In California, impaired driving led to 774 deaths in 2011 because someone failed to designate a sober driver. DUI can impact the economy in addition to the pain and suffering of those immediately affected, according to a news release from the Police Department. Conservatively, a fatality has a $1.4 million impact, an injury $70,000, and a crash that damages only property averages nearly $9,000.

Funding for the special patrols is from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 8:11 AM with the headline "Modesto police to deploy DUI patrols next two Saturdays."