DUI enforcement efforts in the Santa Clarita Valley and beyond are expected to increase over the weekend during New Year’s celebrations, officials said.

While alcohol-impaired driving remains the most serious problem on roadways, the percentage of drivers in fatal crashes with other impairing substances in their system keeps rising, according to officials.

Faced with more instances of DUID – Driving Under the Influence of Drugs – state and local officials are reiterating the message that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.”

The message takes on increased importance with the state set to begin licensing commercial non-medical marijuana sales on January 1, 2018, under provisions of Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department DUI Enforcement Team will be deploying this holiday weekend in an effort to stop and arrest alcohol and drug-impaired drivers.

DUI Saturation Patrols and a Drivers License Checkpoint will deploy during the weekend between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. in areas with high frequencies of DUI collisions and arrests.

These extra deputies on the road, along with routine patrols, are aimed to drastically reduce impaired driving on the community’s roadways, said Sheriff’s officials.

“It has taken more than 35 years to convince the vast majority of the public that driving under the influence of alcohol is dangerous, illegal and socially unacceptable,” said Rhonda Craft, director of the Office of Traffic Safety. “With more dying on our roadways every day, we can’t afford to take that long when it comes to driving under the influence of prescription medications, marijuana, illicit drugs and even some over-the-counter medications.”

In the 10 years from 2005-2015, the percentage of drivers in fatal crashes with an impairing drug other than alcohol in their system has risen from 26.2 percent to 42.6 percent.

As far back as 2012, a roadside survey in California showed more drivers 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.

In addition to marijuana, a driver could be subject to a DUI arrest if they are under the influence of prescription medications like sleep aids, tranquilizers, barbiturates, opiates and other pain killers, anti-depressants, and even over-the-counter allergy or cough medications.

In the face of more drug-impaired drivers on the road, police officers, Sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers are training more law enforcement officials in Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Evaluation (DRE).

The advanced training augments the Standardized Field Sobriety Test to help identify what substances other than alcohol a driver may be impaired by and how seriously they are impaired.

During December, the Office of Traffic Safety ran public awareness announcements concerning prescription medication DUI. Starting December 27 and running through much of January, the emphasis of the “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze” campaign switches to one that points out that no matter age or circumstance, and no matter one’s reasons for consuming marijuana, residents should never drive while high.

OTS has posted this PSA on social media with the hopes that it can reach every Californian with the safety message that marijuana impaired driving will end in an arrest.

Plan a sober ride home before the party begins this holiday weekend. Drivers are encouraged to download the Designated Driver VIP, or “DDVIP,” free mobile app for Android or iPhone.

The DDVIP app helps find nearby bars and restaurants that feature free incentives for the designated sober driver, from free non-alcoholic drinks to free appetizers and more. The app has social media tie-ins and even a tab for the non-DD to call Uber, Lyft or Curb.

Residents can also plan ahead with these tips:

Arrange rides home for friends, family, co-workers and oneself before the drinking begins;

Identify and provide free non-alcoholic drinks or other promotional items to the Designated Driver;

Party hosts and servers must limit drinks to your guests or patrons. Don’t serve more than one or two over several hours; and

Cut back on the number of drinks an individual plan to bring to the party – and provide plenty of food.

Ed. Note: This above information was provided to KHTS by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

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