After a summer marred by the COVID-19 pandemic and massive forest fires sparked by a freak lightning storm, millions of Californians are still expected to get out of the house this Labor Day weekend.

And Lathrop Police Services hopes that those that do decide to venture out – be it for a weekend getaway or a low-key family gathering – do so safely and responsibly.

In order to help protect motorists and remove those that may be driving while under the influence of alcohol and or other intoxicants, Lathrop Police plan on employing a number of different tactics over Labor Day weekend to identify those that are jeopardizing the health and welfare of their fellow residents.

“The dangers of drinking and driving are very real,” said Lathrop Police Sgt. Kahekili Seto. “That includes drugs that affect your ability to drive. Please be responsible and think of your family and friends before considering driving when you are not in a position to do so safely.”

To help ensure safety on the roadways Lathrop Police will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint this weekend at an undisclosed location within the city limits – hoping to educate drivers about the dangerous of driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs while at the same time apprehending those that are violating the law.

And even though the pandemic is expected to put a dent in the number of people traveling – for the second time this summer AAA has elected not to publish a travel forecast because of the impact the virus is having on travel – residents in California have proven that they’re still willing to be on the go during the summer.

Over Fourth of July weekend, just as the number of cases were rising sharply, the California Highway Patrol still made 738 arrests for driving under the influence throughout the state during a 54-hour window.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 10,000 people died in DUI-related crashes in California from 2003 through 2012, and in a poll conducted of drivers in the state 1.8 percent claimed that they had climbed behind the wheel after they had imbibed enough to be impaired in the last 30 days – just slightly under the national average of 1.9 percent of those that responded to the survey.

Funding the DUI checkpoint and the additional patrols that Lathrop Police Services plans to have on the streets to thwart those driving under the influence is being provided by a grant from California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.