Police urge Super Bowl fans to drive sober, warn of checkpoints
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Southern California police departments are issuing this reminder for Super Bowl partiers: Fans don’t let fans drive drunk.
Los Angeles and Glendale police will be conducting roving DUI patrols and setting up sobriety checkpoints on Sunday.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department also warns those who plan to drink and are unable to enlist a designated driver before the game, to “plan on calling a friend or a cab to get you home. Encourage your friends to do the same.”
Super Bowl XLVII between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens gets underway at 3:15 p.m. PST.
According to The Times’ Highway 1 blog, the rate of alcohol-related car crashes in California on Super Bowl Sunday is 75% higher than on other comparable Sundays in January and February. The data were from a 10-year analysis of fatal and injury crashes from 2002 to 2011 by the Automobile Club of Southern California.
On Sunday, the LAPD has DUI Saturation Patrols planned for the Newton and Central areas from 2 to 10 p.m.; in the Topanga area from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; in the 77th Street area from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; and in the Hollywood area from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Glendale police issued the following suggestions:
If you’re attending a Super Bowl party:
• Designate your sober driver before the party begins.
• If you don’t have a designated driver, ask a sober friend for a ride home; call a cab, friend, or family member to come and get you; or if possible stay where you are for the night and don’t drive until you are sober.
• Use your community’s sober ride or enter www.ruok2drive.com into your smartphone’s browser for the OTS Cab Finder.
If you’re hosting a Super Bowl party:
• Serve plenty of food and non-alcoholic beverages at the party.
• Remember, you can be held liable and prosecuted if someone you served ends up in a drunk-driving crash.
• Likewise, parents or other adults who provide alcohol to those under 21, or host a party where alcohol is available for them, could face jail time.
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