Fourth of July Enforcement
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – California Highway Patrol officers will be ramping up patrols on state highways and roads across Riverside County beginning Thursday to catch drunken and drug-impaired drivers as part of the agency’s annual Fourth of July weekend crackdown.
The statewide “maximum enforcement period” will begin at 6 p.m. Thursday and conclude at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, during which all available officers will hit the streets for targeted patrols.
“Reckless driving and speeding have deadly consequences,” CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said. “It’s every driver’s responsibility to make safe choices behind the wheel. Let’s work together to prevent tragedies by always designating a sober driver and keeping our roads safe for everyone.”
During last year’s Independence Day maximum enforcement period, officers arrested 1,336 motorists on suspicion of DUI statewide, compared to 1,224 arrests that occurred during the 2023 campaign, according to the CHP.
Forty-nine people were killed in crashes within the CHP’s jurisdiction during the 2024 Fourth of July weekend. That figure was 68 the year before.
Officers from the Beaumont, Blythe, Indio, Riverside and Temecula CHP stations will deploy on Inland Empire freeways, highways and unincorporated roads for this year’s effort.
Duryee said officers will take a zero tolerance approach to any roadway actions that put other drivers at risk, but speeding will be a major focus.
A two-day enforcement action by the CHP in early June netted over 12,000 speeding citations statewide, according to the agency.
“Every additional mile per hour reduces a driver’s reaction time and increases the severity of the crash,” Duryee said previously.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and multiple municipal police departments throughout the county will be carrying out saturation patrols through the holiday weekend to snare DUI suspects and other scofflaws.
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