BARSTOW, Calif. — Highway patrol officers are preparing for the Memorial Day holiday weekend with extra enforcement on the highways, while waiting to see whether high gas prices make a difference in the number of people on the roads.
California Highway Patrol will have up to 80 percent of the force on patrol between 6 p.m. Friday and midnight on Monday, according to a CHP release.
Last year, the CHP reported 37 people died in vehicle collisions in California over the 2007 Memorial Day weekend, and officers arrested 1,614 people for driving under the influence.
The Barstow Police Department and the Barstow Sheriff’s Station did not report any plans for stepped-up enforcement over the weekend, although Sgt. Tim Lotspeich with the sheriff’s station said the call volume typically rises over the holidays.
Lotspeich said he expects a possible increase in the number of domestic disturbances deputies will respond to this year, if people choose to stick close to home rather than spending the gas money to go out of town.
Barstow area CHP Officer Taj Johnson said he does not necessarily anticipate that gas prices will keep people off the roads. Instead, people who have cut back on daily driving may decide to splurge on the holiday weekend.
“Even with gas prices, people still seem to want to travel and get out on the holidays, at least,” he said.
As part of the increased traffic enforcement over the weekend, CHP will be targeting drivers not wearing their seatbelts. Both CHP and Barstow Police Department are two of the 280 agencies participating in the state’s Click it or Ticket campaign, from May 12 to June 1. A grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety is funding officer overtime to support the campaign.
According to the CHP report, at least half of drivers who died in crashes last Memorial Day weekend were not wearing seatbelts.
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