You Better Watch Out … I’m Telling You Why: Cops are Cracking Down on Drunk Driving

This time of year, with all the holiday office parties and festive occasions with friends and families, many partygoers will be drinking. If you’re celebrating with alcohol this holiday season, the Monterey Park Police Department has a message for you, “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” Due to the increase in drunk-driving-related fatalities around the holidays each year, law enforcement agencies across America will be out in force December 12, 2014-January 1, 2015 actively searching for drunk or drug impaired drivers.

Monterey Park and other area police departments have plans for 43 DUI/drivers license checkpoints and 56 roving DUI saturation patrols with the first DUI operations planned on Friday, December 12, 2014 from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Additionally, police, sheriff and the CHP throughout the region are deploying multiple DUI operations in overtime to increase DUI arrests.

The facts are grim: in December 2012 there were 830 people killed in crashes involving at least one driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. 26 of those deaths occurred on Christmas Day. On average, a third (31 percent) of all crash fatalities in America involves drunk driving. But on Christmas Day 2012, the amount jumped to 36 percent. Every year, more than 10,322 people are killed by drunk drivers in America, with 802 of those in California alone. In California, an additional 24,000 are seriously injured.

Some startling data from NHTSA shows that during the holiday season in 2012, 40 percent of the drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes had at least one prior DUI on their record. And many offenders are young drivers. During that same holiday period, 37 percent of the 21 to 24 year-old drivers in fatal crashes were drunk. Surprisingly, almost 1 out of 6 drivers under the age of 21 in those fatal crashes were also drunk, even though they’re too young to legally buy or consume alcohol.

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over

If you’re drinking and driving, law enforcement will be out to find and arrest you – no warnings, no excuses. The only way to truly avoid a DUI is to drive sober. There are many ways to get home safely after drinking and driving isn’t one of them. Designate a sober driver ahead of time, or call a friend or family member. You could also use public transportation or call a taxi. The cost of cab fare is nothing compared to a $10,000 DUI or the cost of someone’s life, and the “inconvenience” of not driving your own car home is nothing compared to the inconvenience of spending the holidays behind bars. This holiday season don’t let the festivities turn into fatalities.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration who reminds everyone, “Report Drunk Drivers! – Call 9-1-1.” The Office of Traffic Safety is offering a free mobile app, DDVIP, aimed at thanking the sober designated driver with perks and free offers at area bars and restaurants.

Monterey Park Spirit Buses Welcome Metro TAP Cards

The City of Monterey Park announces that Metro TAP Card readers are now installed on the city’s municipal Spirit Bus system. Purchasing and using a TAP card can allow bus patrons to ride seamlessly and conveniently throughout Los Angeles County without cash.

TAP (Transit Access Pass) is a durable, plastic card that can be used again and again. It’s an eco- friendly alternative to the disposable paper passes/transfers. TAP cards
are accepted by numerous operators in the San Gabriel Valley including
Access Services, Foothill Transit, LADOT, Montebello Bus Lines,

Norwalk Transit, Pasadena ARTS and Metro.

TAP cards can currently be purchased at Ralphs Supermarket, 2230 S. Atlantic Blvd. in Atlantic Square; Langley Senior Center, 400 W. Emerson Ave.; the Gold Line Station at Atlantic and Pomona Boulevards; and at the Cal State University, Los Angeles Busway/Metrolink Station.

For more information visit the city website at www.montereypark.ca.gov/549/Spirit-Bus or call 626-307-1320.

WWII Flying Tigers Traveling Exhibit Opened at Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library

A traveling exhibit of 200 photographs documenting the history of the World War II “Flying Tigers,” will open on December 2 at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library. The exhibit, which appeared at the Capitol Hill Rayburn Foyer in November, will visit air museums and libraries in Southern California after its first tour at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library.

The exhibition is the work of Pedro Chan, Ph.D., a long-time collector and donor of Flying Tigers memorabilia. Growing up in Macau, Chan heard stories about the Flying Tigers, an American fighting squadron of volunteer aviators that inspired him to learn more. “Salute to WWII Flying Tigers in China” is a fulfillment of Chan’s long-time goal to share the Flying Tigers legacy of honor and courage with people of all ages.

Army Lieutenant General Claire L. Chennault commanded the Flying Tigers American Volunteer Groups (AVG), China Air Task Force (CATF) and the Fourteenth Army Air Force (14th AAF) during the World War II campaign to defend China against invading Japanese forces. Chan says it was an honor to have

Anna Chennault, widow of LTG Chennault, as an honorary sponsor of the exhibit.

The public is invited to view the exhibit December 2-31 during library hours Monday through Sunday.

For more information about the exhibit please contact the library at 626-307-1368. The Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library is the city’s public library located at 318 S. Ramona Avenue, Monterey Park, CA 91754. Library hours are Sundays 1-5 p.m.; Mondays and Tuesdays 12-9 p.m.; Wednesdays and Thursdays 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. For more City of Monterey Park news and information visit the city website at www.MontereyPark.ca.gov.