Holiday DUIs up slightly Holiday DUIs up slightly (January 07, 2005)

More drunk drivers caught in Mountain View than other cities

By Roseanne Pereira

Mountain View tallied 62 drunk-driving arrests, the second highest among cities in Santa Clara County, at the conclusion of the recent Avoid the 13 program. The campaign, aimed at reducing drunk driving, was in effect from Dec. 17, 2004 to Jan. 2, 2005.

The number of arrests in Mountain View was exceeded only by those made in San Jose. Palo Alto had 23 Driving Under the Influence (DUI) arrests made during the campaign.

Mountain View's 62 arrests is up from the 54 made last year, when the campaign was five days longer. It's unclear whether these numbers point to an increase in drunk driving or an increase in enforcement.

"My take is that officers are doing more work. A team of two officers will make one arrest, and will be back out again making another arrest within a half hour or 45 minutes," said Steve Perea, spokesperson for the San Jose California Highway Patrol.

"It's a cycle. The officers don't have to go out searching -- the DUIs are finding the officers," Perea added.

During New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, eight of the 106 DUI arrests in Santa Clara County were made in Mountain View. One of these followed a DUI-related injury collision. A drunk driver rear-ended another car on Central Expressway, near Shoreline Boulevard, causing the sober driver minor injuries.

Last year, there were no DUI-related injuries reported in Mountain View during the campaign.

Though efforts have been made to raise awareness, there is still the idea out there among drivers who drink that "I can do this and I won't get caught," said Sgt. Michael Alexander of the Mountain View Police Department.

Despite the persistence of drivers under the influence, "the Mountain View Police Department was exemplary this year," said Perea.

E-mail Roseanne G. Pereira at rpereira@mv-voice.com

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