Full Notification

Cinco de Mayo is a day when many people will celebrate. While most will be responsible, others will make a bad decision by driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Impaired driving doesn't just refer to alcohol. It also means driving under the influence of prescription drugs or marijuana.

To protect the community from impaired drivers, the Sheriff's Department will be adding extra DUI patrols across San Diego County on Saturday, May 5th.

Sheriff's Deputies will also be holding a DUI checkpoint in the City of Santee on the same day.

Deputies arrested three drivers on suspicion of DUI on Cinco de Mayo in 2017. Five people were arrested by the Sheriff's Department for driving under the influence on the same day in 2016. So far in 2018, deputies have arrested 359 people for DUI.

"You will go to jail if you are caught driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol," said Sheriff Bill Gore. "Buzzed driving is drunk driving."

To watch our public safety video on the high price of drinking and driving, follow the Sheriff's Department on VIMEO: https://goo.gl/rteokP.

Funding for the DUI patrols/checkpoint is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).