Crime & Safety

Marin Police Plan Countywide DUI Strike Team Friday

Ongoing 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' campaign scraps planned Mill Valley checkpoint for Aug. 24 in favor of roving patrols.

People planning to drink and drive in Marin Friday won't have the benefit of knowing what specific intersections to avoid.

Officials behind , which runs from Aug, 17 to Sept. 3, have scrapped a planned DUI checkpoint in Mill Valley for Friday in favor of roving patrols from a countywide DUI strike team including all 13 law enforcement agencies.

The patrols are part of statewide effort to crack down on impaired driving through the Labor Day weekend. 

Find out what's happening in Mill Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

It kicked off Aug. 17 with a  at the intersection of Manuel T Freitas Parkway and Las Gallinas Avenue in San Rafael, The checkpoint resulted in no arrests for drunken driving, according to the San Rafael Police Department. One of the drivers had a $15,000 misdemeanor warrant for prostitution from San Bernardino County, while two other drivers operating with suspended licenses were arrested.

“Research has shown that high-visibility enforcement like the 'Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over' campaign reduces alcohol-impaired driving fatalities by as much as 20 percent,"  Sgt. Christopher Coale said in a release. "By joining this statewide wide effort, we will make Marin’s roadways safer for everyone throughout the Labor Day period.”

Find out what's happening in Mill Valleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The final DUI checkpoint planned during the Marin effort is set for Aug. 31 in San Anselmo, with the time and location still to be determined.

In 2010 alone, 791 people died in California in crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was at or above the legal limit.  The age group with the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes was the 21-to-24 age group.


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