SFPD Working To Keep Roadways Safe During New Year’s Eve Holiday 18-175

New Year’s Eve is a wonderful time of the year to spend with family and friends, but it is also a time when people can make poor decisions that put themselves and others at risk on the road.

To help spread the message about the dangers of drunk and drugged driving, the San Francisco Police Department is partnering with the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to get impaired drivers off roads.

During the high-visibility enforcement campaign Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, which runs from Dec. 14 - Jan. 1, the San Francisco Police Department will have more officers on the road conducting DUI checkpoints and saturations, looking for drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

SFPD will hold a DUI saturation event on Friday, December 28, 2018. “Whether you are home with family or at the bar, it is important that you find a sober ride home after drinking,” said San Francisco Police Chief William Scott. “As an adult, it is up to you to make adult decisions and drive sober or use a ride share service. There are no excuses for driving impaired.”

SFPD also reminds drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” Marijuana, prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs.

During the 2017 Christmas (Dec. 22-25) and New Year’s (Dec. 30 - Jan. 2) holiday periods, 25 people were killed and 643 injured on California roads, according to data from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS).

Drivers caught driving impaired can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to include jail time, fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000, not to mention the embarrassment when friends and family find out.

The San Francisco Police Department offers these reminders to ensure you have a safe night of fun that doesn’t involve a DUI:

Decide before you go out whether you plan to drink or drive. You can’t do both.

If you plan to drink, designate a sober driver. Take a taxi, ride-share or public transportation. You can also look up sober ride programs using the National Directory of Designated Driver Services (NDDDS). 

See a friend or another patron impaired trying to get behind the wheel? Take the keys away and help them make other arrangements to get home safely.

Report drunk drivers – call 911.

Volunteering as a designated sober driver? Our designated driver very important person (“DDVIP”) program partners with bars and restaurants to offer non-alcohol specialty drinks for DDs, among other deals.

Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the San Francisco Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to ‘Report Drunk Drivers – Call 9-1-1’.