Crime & Safety

Memorial Day 2011: Beat Traffic and Avoid a DUI

A guide for enjoying Memorial Day weekend without being stuck on the road too long.

Memorial Day Weekend is here and the eternal choice of holiday weekends is once again upon us: do we brave the traffic and get away for a little while or stay home and enjoy the extra time off?

Regardless of what you decide, here are some tips that will help you escape Memorial Day weekend traffic, be safe and enjoy your time a little more.

1) Pre-Departure Traffic Surveillance - Before you get the car all packed up and ready to go it might be nice to see how much of a parking lot the 210 Freeway is.  Here's a good way to do a check: sigalert.com.  The site gives you fairly up to date info on where the accidents and congestion are.  You might think twice about rushing to get onto the freeway if you think it might clear up in a few hours.

Find out what's happening in San Marinowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

2) Departure Time - Leave early in the morning or late at night. Friday afternoon and evening, when people are leaving work and leaving town, is generally not a good time to be on the road on Memorial Day Weekend. Ask yourself if you really need to be pulling into your destination at midnight Friday after a harrowing seven-hour trip if you could do the same trip in four hours starting at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning. 

3) DUI Checkpoints - If you do get a clear stretch of freeway, watch your speed.  And if you are spending time drinking, make sure you don't get behind your wheel, because the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is rolling out a series of DUI checkpoints throughout the county in a campaign called the "Avoid the 100 Los Angeles County DUI Campaign."  The "100" refers to the 100 days after Memorial Day, which are prime one for drunk driving. County areas are patrolled by the Sheriff's Department, and could be a prime target.  Of course, there is never a GOOD time to get behind the wheel after a couple of drinks, but this weekend is a particularly bad one.

Find out what's happening in San Marinowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Though the San Marino Police Department will not have a DUI checkpoint set up in the city for Memorial Day weekend, San Marino Police Department Lieutenant Steve Johnson said Wednesday the police department will be more on the lookout for drunk driving and people not wearing seatbelts.

“We’re always a little more vigilant on any holiday weekend just because we do see numbers go up,” said Johnson, who noted that the number of officers on patrol will not increase this weekend. “More people are on the road so consequently more people are driving while impaired.”

Two DUIs were reported last Memorial Day—not out of the ordinary for a typical weekend—but Johnson urges residents to call 9-1-1 immediately if they see what looks like drunk driving.

4) Sunday Day Trip - What is the one day of Memorial Day Weekend where people tend not to travel?  It's the middle day where people have arrived at their destination and are not ready to go home yet.  That's when you can swing in with the long day trip you usually wouldn't dare on a Sunday in Los Angeles County: the beach, Joshua Tree, Santa Barbara are all on the table.

5) Consider staying in San Marino - Local weather is forecast to be in the 7os this weekend so it's prime time for a picnic. .


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