CHP to be out in force during long weekend

As motorists plan to get away this upcoming Memorial Day weekend, the California Highway Patrol is reminding those headed out on road trips to buckle up, don’t drink and drive, keep your vehicle at a safe and legal speed and eliminate distractions.

Memorial Day weekend is a Maximum Enforcement Period for the CHP. To help keep things safe on the roadways throughout the holiday, CHP offices will deploy every available officer from 6pm May 27 through 11:59pm May 30.

Memorial Day weekend 2010 saw a significant decrease in the number of people killed in collisions on the state’s roadways. According to CHP statistics, there was a 62 percent reduction from the previous year.

During last year’s holiday weekend, 17 people were killed in a crash in California; among those that died, 12 were vehicle occupants within CHP jurisdiction. One-third of those individuals were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.