This holiday season, police, sheriff and CHP will be out in force cracking down on drunk drivers throughout the North Coast.  From today until New Year’s Day, state and local law enforcement will be watching for drunk drivers to help keep roads safe for holiday travelers, law enforcement officials said in a press release today.

The DUI Task Force will be aggressively looking for drunk drivers this holiday season with plans in place for 5 DUI checkpoints, a DUI strike team, local roving DUI saturation patrols, a DUI warrant/probation sweep and a DUI court sting targeting suspended drivers who were ordered by the judge not to drive.

“You’ll see our officers making lots of stops during this highly visible enforcement period and if we suspect anyone is driving while intoxicated, officers will show zero tolerance for drunk driving,” said Petaluma Police Chief Patrick Williams.

Data shows that the holiday season is a particularly deadly time due to the increased number of drunk drivers on the roads, and law enforcement agencies in the county say they are prepared to stop and arrest any drunk driver they see to keep roads safe.

Nationally in the four years from 2007 to 2011 there were 4,169 people killed during the month of December in crashes that involved drunk drivers.  In California during those same five Decembers, 505 were killed and thousands seriously injured.

“The December holiday season is the most wonderful time of the year, and we are going to keep our roads safe for travelers heading to visit friends and family,” Williams said. “If you choose to drive drunk, we will be looking for you, we will stop you, and you will be arrested.”