LAKE COUNTY – This week, three Lake County law enforcement agencies will participate in the “AVOID the 3” program as part of California’s Holiday DUI Enforcement Campaign.

On Dec. 19, officers with the Lakeport Police and Clearlake Police Departments will team up with members of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office to conduct a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) checkpoint in the city of Lakeport, according to Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) Director Christopher J. Murphy reported that California has worked very hard over the past five years to reverse the trend of increasing alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

Murphy said the state is getting these dangerous drivers off the road through an aggressive combination of sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and greater vigilance on the part of the public by calling 911 when they see a drunk driver.

As an important part of the campaign, Lake County public safety agencies and the OTS are calling for public assistance by calling 911 to report suspected drunk drivers.

The public is asked to consider how many times they have seen someone driving erratically or in an unsafe manner and wished there was a “cop” around. Law enforcement can’t be everywhere at once and they need help from the public to find impaired drivers and get them off the roads promptly.

The following clues can help motorists detect a drunk driver:

• Weaving/swerving in and out of the lane;

• Weaving within the lane quite noticeably;

• Traveling at speeds much slower than the flow of traffic;

• Braking erratically or stopping in the lane;

• Sudden stops for signal lights and slow start once they change;

• Remaining at the signal lights once they turn green – asleep at the wheel;

• Making wide turns and/or cutting the corner, striking the curb;

• Headlights off at night or on high beams;

• Driving with the turn signals on;

• Straddling the center line of the road or lane lines;

• The driver looks intoxicated – starring straight ahead, face close to the windshield, and appears to by quite sleepy;

• Aggressive driving – speed, tailgating and multiple lane changes or unsafe passing may also be the tell-tale signs of intoxication.

California’s effort coincides with the national “Drunk Driving – Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaign taking part across the country.

Grant funding for the regional AVOID Program includes officer overtime for sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols and is provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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