Officers of the Long Beach Police Department’s (LBPD) DUI Enforcement Team will be out and about this weekend to stop and arrest alcohol and drug-impaired drivers, as part of the department’s ongoing traffic safety campaign.

This Saturday, DUI Saturation Patrol will be deployed between 6:00PM and 2:00AM in areas with frequent DUI collisions and/or arrests.

Proven to lower the number of fatalities and injuries in alcohol or drug impaired crashes, high visibility enforcement, including DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols, can reduce crashes by up to 20 percent when well-publicized and conducted routinely.

In 2014 in California, alcohol-involved collisions led to 1,155 deaths and nearly 24,000 injuries. Over the past three years, officers have investigated 999 DUI collisions, which claimed 10 lives and caused another 344 injuries, according to the announcement.

Drivers are encouraged to download the Designated Driver VIP, or “DDVIP,” free mobile app for Android or iPhone. The app helps find nearby bars and restaurants that offer free incentives for the designated sober driver, and also includes a tab for non-DDs to call Uber, Lyft or Curb.

Funding for this DUI operation is provided to the L.B.P.D. by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to ‘Report Drunk Drivers – Call 9-1-1.’