Holiday Lift of Drunks Seeks to Cut Arrests

Every Memorial Day weekend, hordes head for beaches, parks, lakes and other recreation spots to celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer. And, almost every Memorial Day weekend, hundreds of San Diego County motorists are arrested for drunk driving.

In an effort to cut the number of arrests this year, community groups, businesses and the County Department of Health Services have banded together in a Safe Ride Home pilot project from noon to 10 p.m. Monday at Fiesta Island.

Fiesta Island was chosen because of the high number of drunk-driving arrests there during past Memorial Day weekends. Last year, two fatalities occurred on the island, according to Ron Yardley, county Health Department public information officer.

“When an accident does happen, it’s hard to get help to the injured because no phones exist there,” he said. “This, and the fact that there is only one way to enter or exit the island, makes it a good location for the pilot project.”

The program will feature an ambulance equipped with a cellular phone that will be used to call taxis in emergencies. Literature on the perils of drinking and driving will be handed out, and there will be free non-alcoholic refreshments, Yardley said.

Thoughout the county, the Sheriff’s Department, San Diego police, and the California Highway Patrol will bolster patrols, both on highways and at recreation areas.

San Diego police spokesman Bill Robinson said police are prepared, if necessary, to use a beach diversion plan that would close crowded streets to beaches while leaving alternative routes open. “We will monitor the beach area very closely and keep a lookout for drivers who have been drinking,” Robinson said.

The CHP reported it will increase the number of officers on highways from 75% to 85%. An added 80 lifeguards will be on duty at San Diego city beaches.

Banks, post offices, courts, city offices and schools will be closed Monday. Trash collection in San Diego will be pushed back one day for a week, but the Miramar landfill will be open Monday from 7:30 a.m. to sunset.

Eight lakes will be open from sunrise to sunset: Chollas, El Capitan, San Vicente, Miramar, Otay, Sutherland, Hodges and Murray.