Santa Maria Police: Traffic picks up, more drunk drivers on the road

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Drivers are frustrated. "And it’s upsetting because... it just ruins not only their life but everybody’s life that’s in involved in an accident," said driver Jeff Lopez in Santa Maria.

So Sgt MIchael Mcgehee with the Santa Maria Police Department is busy trying to make the roads safe.

“Since about June just our unit alone ... we’ve probably had about 61 or so DUI arrests,” said McGehee.

During the month of August Santa Maria police reported close to 24 DUI arrests.

“That’s just our unit ... so you have to understand the patrol officers in their vehicles are also out there doing enforcement,” said McGehee.

Officers say people are not just driving drunk, they’re seeing drivers way over the legal limit.

“We’ve even seen some quadruple the legal limit ... and the only reason why I throw those numbers out there is that it just tells you that people are pretty drunk getting behind the wheel,” said McGehee.

“During the past three to four weeks officers have made more than 300 traffic stops and 150 for traffic citations in Santa Maria.

“I’m seeing people on cell phones which are accidents waiting to happen because people don’t pay attention to the road," said Lopez.

“It’s not worth somebody’s life ... the reality is people are out there driving drunk and killing people ... our job is to go out there and make sure that doesn’t happen and to keep the public safe," said McGehee.

Mcgehee says typically Santa Maria sees some 2,000 reported collisions each year, a number they’re hoping to bring down.