Nearly 300 motorists arrested in countywide DUI crackdown

In the last sobriety checkpoint of the Avoid the 14 anti-DUI crackdown in Ventura County, police in Oxnard checked 904 motorists on Saviers Road at Laurel Street.

Officers made one DUI arrest, cited 31 people for not having proper licenses and towed 12 cars, said Senior Officer Humberto Jimenez.

The 19day Avoid the 14 campaign ended at midnight on New Year's Day.

Officers from throughout the county arrested 296 DUI suspects since Dec. 14, a 30 percent rise from last year's figures. There was one death attributed to DUI.

California Highway Patrol officers in Moorpark and Ventura began their maximum enforcement periods on Dec. 31 and continued through New Year's Day. Officers from the 10 other police departments were on high alert throughout the weekend, Jimenez said.

The California Office of Traffic Safety funds Avoid the 14 and 40 other similar crackdowns through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.