AVOID THE 12 PLANS EXTRA PATROLS

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY- April 21st, 2009

RESULTS FROM VINTNER'S FESTIVAL WEEKEND

A designated driver is not the one who has had the least amount to
drink, it is a completely sober driver, as one woman learned the hard
way as she was arrested on Saturday night by officers from the Avoid
the 12 Vintners’ Festival DUI task force.

Officers made 42 traffic stops and conducted 11 DUI investigations on
Saturday night and Sunday until 3 a.m., according to county Sheriff’s
Deputy Win Smith, campaign coordinator.

They arrested three drivers who had a suspended license or none at all
and towed all three cars, impounding them for 30 days.

Smith reports many designated drivers, buses and limousines on the
road “which is just what we want.”

The woman who was arrested had a car full of people, all of whom had
been wine tasting. She had been drinking at several wineries, Smith
reported, and then attended an pricey wine dinner. “Her arrest will no
doubt make her day even more expensive,” he said.

Avoid the 12 joins 40 other similar countywide campaigns in California
in cracking down on impaired drivers over holidays that many people
celebrate with alcohol.  The California Office of Traffic Safety funds
it through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.