CHP's Annual Christmas Enforcement Campaign Set Tonight, Thursday

RIVERSIDE (CNS) - The California Highway Patrol reminded motorists
today to drive safe, sober -- and obey the speed limit -- during Christmas time,
or face consequences
  

The agency's annual Christmastime ``holiday enforcement period'' is
slated to begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday, when all available officers will deploy to
catch drunken or drug-impaired drivers, speeders and other scofflaws.
  

The HEP will only span about 30 hours, concluding late on Thursday night.
  

``Every instance of speeding or reckless driving carries the potential
for life-changing consequences,'' CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said. ``Our
officers see the destruction these choices can cause, and we urge every driver
to slow down, stay alert and make decisions that protect themselves and others.
No destination is worth risking a life.''
  

During last year's Christmas HEP, CHP officers statewide arrested just
over 300 motorists on suspicion of driving under the influence, compared to
about 900 the year before. The 2024 campaign lasted only a day and night
because it fell midweek, like this year's. The 2023 campaign spanned a full
three days and nights because Christmas fell on a Monday.
  

According to the agency, 17 people died in crashes within the CHP's
jurisdiction during Christmas 2024, compared to 20 the year before.
  

The abridged campaign in 2024 still netted 2,251 speeding tickets --
with 132 motorists allegedly caught going over 100 mph, the CHP said. The
effort to crack down on speeders led to inauguration of a pilot program earlier
this year dubbed ``Forward Actions for Speeding Tickets,'' or FAST. The
operation involves deployment of ``100 low-profile specially marked patrol
vehicles,'' the agency stated.
  

``Every decision behind the wheel matters, and obeying the speed limit
can make the difference between arriving safely, or not at all,'' the CHP said.
  

Officers from the Riverside, Blythe, Beaumont, Indio and Temecula CHP
stations will be on inland freeways, highways and unincorporated roads, looking
to snare traffic violators.
  

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, along with multiple
municipal agencies countywide, are currently conducting their own operations,
staffing sobriety checkpoints and deploying targeted patrols as part of a year-
end enforcement mobilization that began about two weeks ago.
  

Another HEP is slated for New Year's Eve.
  

Copyright 2025, City News Service, Inc.