Central coast law enforcement agencies are seeing an increase in DUI cases.
According to Mother's Against Drunk Driving, the number one cause of death on the roadway and the number of cases keeps going up.
“The central coast is certainly not the only region that is seeing an increase in impaired driving. Now we are seeing an increase not only in alcohol but also drugs," said program and fund development manager, Kim Christianson.
San Luis Obispo Police Department released new stats earlier this week, stating officers have arrested 25 people for DUI since June 1st of this year, and they aren’t the only ones.
“Last year we had 150 DUI-related crashes, and at this point, we are at 83. So we are seeing a rise it looks like at this point in the year. Unfortunately, there’s no pattern. It’s every day, any day, any time," said CHP officer, Efrem Moore.
Some of those crashes resulted in deaths. Former prosecutor Matthew Kraut said if you are arrested for a DUI you can say goodbye to at least 13,000 dollars and a license suspension of up to one year.
“If someone is hurt or killed it no longer is a misdemeanor, it has the potential to be filed as a felony," explained now an attorney at law, Kraut.
Kraut said he has seen a significant increase in people calling for DUI case representations and he believes it’s attributed to the uptick in travel following the pandemic.
“Because of things like increase costs of Uber, those gas surcharges we’re seeing people not take Uber or Lyfts," said Christianson.
The effects of driving under the influence impact many more people than just those behind the wheel.
Mother's Against Drunk Driving helps and supports victims and their families affected by driving under the influence. They also have a 24/7 victim hotline and can be reached at 877.MADD.HELP (1-877-623-3435).
