Holiday DUI arrests, fatalities up in California, CHP says

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Drunk driving arrests and fatalities over the holiday increased compared to last year, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Between Dec. 21 and Dec. 25, the CHP recorded 1,170 DUI arrests on roads its patrols, compared to 980 in 2011. Fatalities during that period were 39, compared to 14 in 2011.

Statistics from other California police agencies were not immediately available.

Police announced a series of drunk driving sobriety checkpoints earlier this month designed to catch drunk driving during the holidays.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, 17 people were killed in traffic collisions and more than 800 people were arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in cases handled by the CHP.
The statewide fatality count was up from the same period last year, which had 14 such traffic deaths. But the 840 drunk driving arrests by CHP officers dropped from last year’s 903.

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--A Times staff writer