Police Ready for St. Patrick's Day

The Redlands Police Department will be deploying extra patrols Thursday, Friday and Saturday during the weekend as part of the Avoid the 25 County DUI Campaign.

Officers while focus efforts on area identified as drinking driver hotspots, according to a Redlands Police news release.

“St. Patrick’s Day is one of the most widely celebrated saint’s days in the world, but all too often it shares that great distinction with a far lesser one – too many people are driving drunk and killing or maiming themselves and others on the road as a result,” said Redlands Police Lt. Travis Martinez. “Even if you think you’ve had only a few drinks and are just feeling ‘buzzed,’ don’t kid yourself because Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving.”

Last year during the St. Patrick’s Day period, three people were killed and 96 seriously injured in traffic crashes across California involving at least one driver or motorcyclist with a Blood Alcohol Level of .08 percent or higher, according to statistics by the California Office of Traffic Safety.

Redlands Police arrested two drivers for driving under the influence and cited two others for driving on a suspended license and driving without a license during a sobriety checkpoint March 9. Officers screened 240 drivers during the checkpoint in the southbound lanes of Alabama Street.

On March 12, Redlands Police conducted a traffic enforcement operation between Colton and Citrus avenues. Officers issued 33 citations for violations including speeding, using a cell phone, running a red light, driving on a suspended license, driving without insurance, driving an unregistered vehicle and failure to yield while making a left turn, officials said.

Law enforcement officials recommend the following easy steps, for a safe St. Patrick’s Day:

• Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin and designate a sober driver.
• Call a taxi
• If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to report them - Call 911!
• And remember, if you know people who are about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely.