Crime & Safety

Deputies to Beef up Patrols on Halloween to Catch Impaired Drivers

Extra deputies on the streets in Laguna Niguel and Dana Point will be looking for drunken and drugged drivers.

Halloween is the deadliest night of the year for child pedestrians, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

With that in mind, the department is beefing up patrols Thursday night all across the county.

“According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, from 2007-2011, 52 percent of all national fatalities occurring on Halloween night involved a drunk driver,” state’s a sheriff’s department press release. “Males ages 21-34 comprised almost half of all drunk drivers who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide during the 2011 Halloween period.”

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Here are some tips to stay safe this Halloween:

Before the Halloween festivities begin, plan a way to safely get home at the end of the night:

Find out what's happening in Laguna Niguel-Dana Pointwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Always designate a sober driver
  •  If you are impaired, take a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation
  • Walking impaired can be just as dangerous as drunk driving. Designate a sober friend to walk you home
  • Use your community’s sober ride program
  • If you see a drunk driver on the road, contact local law enforcement
  • If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make safe travel arrangements to where they are going; if you think you have to ask if they are OK to drive, you already know they’re not


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