CHP Saturates Roadways For Maximum Enforcement During Christmas Holiday

SAN JOSE (KPIX) -- Starting on Christmas Eve, the California Highway Patrol saturated roads and highways with officers to catch drunk drivers for its maximum enforcement period.

The operation, which began at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and lasted until 11:59 p.m. on Christmas Day, is an annual event held during one of the agency's busiest times of the year.

"We see a lot of instances of highway violence, people cutting each other off or road raging," said Officer Brian Hatcher.

He said around the holidays, the CHP sees a spike in accidents, road rage incidents as well as drunk driving because more people have more time off and are hitting the roads.

"On my way to something, everything starts happening," said Hatcher. "People are speeding, people are on their phones."

But that's not the only threat the CHP said is on the road this year.

In Monterey County, CHP officers are investigating 64 incidents of projectiles launched at cars since February. They have yet to make any arrests.

In San Jose, investigators said similar incidents have happened.

"It's a misdemeanor at minimum, so that's definitely something you should think about," Hatcher said. "Now let's say you throw something at someone's car and they end up crashing and getting hurt. You could turn that into assault, and that could be a felony."

During last year's enforcement period, during a 102 hour time frame, there were 16 deaths on the roads and nearly 350 others were injured in accidents involving impaired drivers statewide.

CHP officials hoped those numbers would be dramatically lower this holiday.

"Our goal is to help them get where they're going safely," said Hatcher.

On Thursday, CHP reported that some of those numbers had gone down. At least 10 people were killed in collisions throughout California during the maximum enforcement period, with officers making 271 arrests for driving under the influence.

A similar holiday enforcement effort will be conducted next week during New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.