BAKERSFIELD, Calif (KGET) — Memorial Day kicks off summer time travel and leisure but it is also one of the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers.
As people come together to enjoy the holiday weekend, many are engaging in drinking behaviors and utilizing substances, but CHP warns against this.
1,000 people were killed in crashes involving teen drivers between Memorial Day and Labor Day in 2012, and more than 550 of those killed were teens, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data.
Officer DC Williams with the Fort Tejon office of the CHP offers safety tips for this Memorial Day Weekend:
- Designate a sober driver
- Use a ride share
- Stay at home or with friends
- Wear your seatbelt
- Call a parent or guardian
In the past few years there have been a staggering amount of DUI arrests through Memorial Day weekend. Here are the results for California:
- 2022 – 891 DUI arrests and 15 fatal crashes
- 2021 – 979 DUI arrests and 35 fatal crashes
- 2020 – 854 DUI arrests and 31 fatal crashes
- 2019 – 1099 DUI arrests and 34 fatal crashes
A DUI not only consist of consuming alcohol but also includes smoking weed, illegal drugs and prescription medication.
CHP plans to have checkpoints over the weekend.
