OC Beefs Up Anti-Drunk Driving Patrols for Cinco de Mayo

The Orange County Sheriff's Department will have extra eyeballs on the road Sunday to discourage people from drinking and driving on Cinco de Mayo.

Special DUI Saturation Patrols will be deployed this weekend in Fountain Valley, Anaheim, Garden Grove, Laguna Beach, Orange and throughout South Orange County to reduce the amount of crashes.

“When people start celebrating, they often aren’t thinking of how they will get home from the restaurant or a friend’s house. They don’t realize how much they’ve had to drink and make a bad choice that ends with tragic consequences,” Deputy Wayne Howard, of the Sheriff’s Department’s Traffic Bureau, said in a released statement. “That’s why we are reminding people to play it safe, plan ahead and designate a sober driver.”

From 2007 to 2011, 38 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities occurred each year around May 5th involved impaired drivers or motorcycle operators with blood alcohol concentrations of .08 and above, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.