The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) announced today that agents will be utilizing education, prevention programs and enforcement operations in collaboration with local law enforcement, licensed establishments, and community stakeholders to help make the winter holiday season as safe as possible.
“Too many alcohol-related tragedies occur during the holiday season when people should be experiencing the joy that families, friends and loved ones bring this time of year,” said ABC Director Jacob Appelsmith.
To help spread the message about the dangers of drunk and drugged driving, ABC is partnering with the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to help keep impaired drivers off roads.
During the winter holiday season many law enforcement agencies will have more officers on the road conducting saturation patrols looking for drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. The California ABC will be doing its part by checking on businesses licensed to sell alcohol and also large community gatherings where alcohol is sold.
“It is critical that licensed establishments pay close attention to ID’s and ensure they are not selling alcohol to minors,” said Appelsmith. “They can also help boost safety efforts by reminding patrons to designate a non-drinking driver or find an alternative way of getting home safely. Keeping communities safe is a collaborative effort and involves everyone to prevent underage drinking and over consumption of alcohol.”
Impaired driving continues to be a huge problem in this country, and more recently, marijuana and drug-impaired driving. People are out and about shopping for the holidays and going to or hosting parties, so it is important that everyone acts responsibly behind the wheel.
To help keep communities safe ABC uses multiple programs to educate licensees about alcoholic beverage laws and enforces alcoholic beverage laws. Many prevention and enforcement efforts are made possible by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Soooo glad ABC is making sure that stores that make thousands of dollars a year don’t sell to minors (which they mostly don’t out of fear of losing that money) We’re all safer now knowing ABC officers we’re ensuring it was only adults buying booze…what a joke. Would love to see ABC stats of officers in the field vs. amount of stores caught selling to minors year over year stats, my suspicion is that it’s very low