Grant Helps Marin County Continue to Combat Drunk and Drugged Driving

Drunk and drugged driving remains the number one killer on California’s roadways, with 774 deaths and over 24,000 injuries in 2011. The Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force will be combating this deadly problem through DUI enforcement efforts in Marin County. 

The San Rafael Police Department will be administering a recent $175,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety for the entire county.  

“Marin’s Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force is beginning its 13th year, and San Rafael PD is proud to continue serving as the lead agency for this important program” said San Rafael’s Police Chief Diana Bishop.  San Rafael PD has spearheaded the effort since its inception in 2001.

The Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force is named to send the message that if you don’t drink or use drugs and drive, you will avoid getting arrested by any of the 13 participating law enforcement agencies in the county.   

The grant activities will specifically target those who get behind the wheel after drinking too much or using drugs that impair driving.  Officers from law enforcement agencies across the county will jointly staff DUI/Driver License Checkpoints, multi-agency DUI Task Force deployments, and local DUI saturation patrols.  

Additionally, funding will target the ‘worst of the worst’ repeat DUI offenders with Warrant/Probation Sweeps and Court Sting Enforcement Operations focusing on DUI offenders with suspend licenses who drive from court hearings after being ordered not to by a judge.

A large part of grant funding will go to DUI/Drivers License Checkpoints – highly visible, highly publicized events not only meant to make arrests, but to deter impaired driving in the first place. Crashes involving alcohol have been shown to drop by up to 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.  

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent, and are supported by nearly 90 percent of California drivers.

Motorists can expect to see special DUI campaigns during the winter and summer holiday periods as well as on Halloween, Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo and during local special events with identified DUI problems.  

Funding for the grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  

Agencies participating in the Avoid the 13 Task Force include:

• Belvedere Police
• California Highway Patrol
• Central Marin Police Authority – includes the Twin Cities and San Anselmo
• Fairfax Police
• Marin Community College Police
• Marin County Sherriff
• Mill Valley Police
• Novato Police
• Ross Department of Public Safety
• San Rafael Police
• Sausalito Police
• Tiburon Police