A special effort by the California Highway Patrol over this long Thanksgiving weekend will focus on safe driving and making sure everyone is buckled up. A maximum enforcement period begins at 6 O’clock Wednesday and lasts through Midnight on Sunday. Officers will be combing the roads for unsafe driving practices and seatbelt compliance. Officers will also focus on speeding, distracted driving, and drivers impaired by drugs or alcohol. Seatbelts are the most important factor in surviving a collision. During last year’s Thanksgiving holiday there were 27 people killed in CHP jurisdiction, and 5 of them were not wearing a seatbelt. 1,047 arrests were made for driving under the influence, a sharp increase from the previous year’s 868 arrests.
-Steve Gibson