DUI patrols to increase over holiday weekend

Extra officers to be on duty today through Labor Day on Monday

Both the Yuma County Sheriff’s Office and the Yuma Police Department will conduct DUI enforcement details over the upcoming Labor Day holiday in an effort to detect, stop and arrest alcohol and drug-impaired drivers.

Additional deputies will be on patrol throughout the county looking for signs of impaired drivers behind the wheel and targeting areas with a high rate of recurrence for DUI-related collisions and/or arrests.

Extra Yuma police officers will rove city streets, looking to stop and arrest drivers who are impaired by alcohol and/or drugs, actively enforcing all traffic laws and raising public awareness about the dangers of impaired driving.

YPD’s DUI detail will run from Friday, Aug. 31 through Monday, Sept. 3, while YCSO’s detail will take place from Saturday Sept. 1 through Monday, Sept. 3. These DUI patrols are in addition to regularly scheduled officers and deputies.

The Sheriff’s Office enforces the state’s 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration (BAC) law, Administrative Per Se laws (immediate driver license suspension), 0.04 percent BAC law for commercial vehicle drivers and the 0.01 percent BAC limit for drivers under 21 years of age (“zero-tolerance”).

Funding for these DUI details was provided through a grant awarded by the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. The DUI enforcement details are part of both the sheriff’s office and police department’s ongoing traffic safety campaign.

These funds enable the sheriff’s office and Yuma police to increase the number of deputies and officers on patrol throughout Yuma County and within the city during high traffic holiday weekends, thereby significantly reducing the number of DUI-related incidents.

The San Luis Police Department will also be conducting a DUI Enforcement Detail and (STEP) Traffic Enforcement Detail for the Labor Day weekend beginning Friday, Aug. 31 and lasting until Monday, Sept. 3.