The California Highway Patrol will be out in full force over the New Years’ weekend cracking down on impaired driving.

The agency announced it was conducting a maximum enforcement period operation from Friday at 6 p.m. through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. As part of the coordinated effort, CHP announced it will have all available personnel on patrol searching for drivers showing signs of impaired driving and removing these from California’s roads.

CHP will also be joining forces with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration as well as with state patrol agencies from neighboring states as part of the “Drive High, Get a DUI” campaign, which specifically targets drivers operating vehicles while under the effects of cannabis products.

“Ringing in the new year should be an exciting time filled with celebration and hope. To help keep the roadways safe through the holiday and beyond, our officers will be out in force to deter, detect, and remove impaired drivers,” CHP Commissioner Amanda Ray said in a prepared statement.

CHP officer Caleb Carsey recommends people make plans to travel safely during the weekend if they plan to celebrate.

“We obviously recommend designating a sober driver for the holiday weekend because we will be looking for impaired drivers and trying to ensure that people are operating vehicles in a safe manner,” Carsey said to the Times-Standard. “If designating a sober driver doesn’t work out, we ask that people use rideshare services or a cab in order to get home safely.”

With the recent run of harsh weather and snow in higher elevations, the officer also recommended making sure vehicles are prepared for any adverse conditions.

“We hope that everyone maintains their vehicle with adequate tires, fresh windshield wiper blades and maintain lower speeds than they would during typically dry weather and use caution,” Carsey added.

Maximum enforcement period operations are generally conducted during periods in which a higher number of impaired drivers are expected to be on the road, such as summer and end-of-year holidays.

A CHP press release details that over the previous New Year’s maximum enforcement period operation 56 people were killed in car crashes in California, with half of these casualties found to not be wearing a seatbelt. The 78-hour period yielded 709 arrests throughout California.

As previously reported by the Times-Standard, the maximum enforcement period operation carried out during the Christmas 2020 period saw six arrests in Humboldt County, four in the northern part of the county and the other two in the southern region.

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