On Dec. 14, the Santa Maria Police Department’s Traffic Bureau conducted a DUI and driver’s license saturation patrol from noon to 10 p.m. in the Santa Maria area. A total of eight motor officers and 20 police officers joined the citywide effort.
The officers made 327 traffic stops and issued 172 moving violation citations, conducted 11 field sobriety tests, and made six miscellaneous arrests and three DUI arrests. Officers also impounded 137 vehicles belonging to unlicensed drivers.
According to a press release from the department, it’s not uncommon for numerous hit-and-run collisions to occur on Sundays, though no such accidents happened during the saturation patrol.
Funding for the saturation program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency.
—Amy Asman
This article appears in Dec 18-25, 2008.