CHP out in force for Memorial Day weekend

Extra CHP patrols will be out all weekend looking for drunk and distracted drivers.|

Expect a lot more California Highway Patrol officers out on the roads beginning at 6 p.m. today, when the agency kicks off its “Maximum Enforcement Period” for the Memorial Day weekend.

The CHP’s regular beat officers will be joined by extra patrols looking for drunk and distracted drivers, a much wider net that could potentially include everyone that gets behind the steering wheel. In the end, he said, both cause the same harm.

“If you think about it, distracted driving looks just like DUI,” said CHP Officer Steven Fricke.

Fricke said the maximum enforcement period could also include DUI checkpoints during the weekend.

The statewide extra enforcement is held every Memorial Day holiday, one of the busiest travel weekends of the year and the traditional kickoff of the summer. Many families and travelers are expected on the nation’s highways.

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