New Year’s Weekend D.U.I Prevention NA17225sr

WHAT: Media Event

WHEN: Friday, December 29, 2017 5:00-7:00 am

WHERE: Los Angeles Police Department, Valley Traffic Division 7870 Nollan Place Panorama City, CA 91402

WHO: LAPD Detective III William Bustos, Valley Traffic Division LAFD Captain I Erik Scott, Public Information Officer LAFD Firefighter III David Ortiz, Public Information Officer Jose Ubaldo, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Visuals: LAPD black and white police vehicle, LAFD rescue ambulance, hearse with a coffin, MTA bus, a crashed car involved in a DUI fatal collision.

WHY: The Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles Fire Department and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority are joining forces to bring a message of safety for this New Year’s weekend and remind motorists that buzzed driving is drunk driving.

This New Year’s weekend, law enforcement will be out in force to seek out impaired drivers. Anyone arrested for driving impaired faces significant legal and financial consequences. The impaired driver also faces jail time, a suspension of the driver’s license, an increase in their car insurance premiums, court costs, lost wages due to time off from work, car towing and repairs, and many other expenses. This does not include the humiliation and consequences of telling family, friends, and employers of the arrest. If there is a collision where someone is injured, or there is a loss of life, the consequences increase substantially.

Nationally, in 2016, 10,497 motorists lost their lives involving a DUI collision. Locally, in Los Angeles Police officers made 10,587 DUI arrests. There were 2,541 DUI collisions resulting in 1,120 serious injuries and 21 fatalities.

CONTACT: For more information, please contact Valley Traffic Detective William Bustos at (818) 644-8021 or LAPD Media Relations at (213) 486-5910.