I mean, it's not like your favorite outpost of alternative newsiness is bastardizing the Mexican Army's unlikely victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, with “Cinco de Drinko” listings.
Er, check that.
Anyways, in other Cinco de Drunk Tank news, the countywide “Avoid the 38” campaign holds roving DUI patrols today. Cities where you might get stopped and asked for your license, registration and blood-alcohol level . . .
Anaheim, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, Laguna Beach, La Palma, Placentia, Santa Ana, Westminster, Orange County Sheriff's Department contract cities (Stanton, much of South County, etc.) and Cal State Fullerton.
The Avoid the 38 DUI Task Force refers to the number of OC cop agencies and towns and areas that participate in the program, or something like that. What's clearer is the campaign is urging you to “Designate a driver before the 'fiesta' begins” today.
Ole!
“Cinco de Mayo is a special opportunity to gather with friends and co-workers for chips, salsa and margaritas, celebrating California's rich cultural diversity,” reads the Avoid the 38 announcement. “It is also a night when dangerous and often deadly outcomes occur because another impaired driver hits the road drunk.”
Officers will be snagging overtime to snag drivers displaying boozy tendencies behind the wheel. That's why party hosts, local bars and restaurants are especially being urged to promote designated sober drivers in advance of the Cabo Wabo shots.
Avoid the 38, which exists on a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, offers these tips:
- Arrange rides home for your friends, family, co-workers and yourself before the drinking begins.
- Identify and provide free non-alcoholic drinks to the Designated Driver.
- Party hosts and servers must limit drinks to your guests or patrons. Don't serve more than one or two over several hours.
- Cut back on the amount of drinks you plan to bring to the party—and provide plenty of food.
- If you see dangerous driving, call 9-1-1 and report drunken drivers.
“Drunk driving is simply not worth the risk,” says Sgt. Mark Daigle of the Sheriff's Department Traffic Bureau in the statement. “Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant. Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver's license, higher insurance rates, attorney fees, time away from work, and dozens of other expenses. So don't take the chance.”
Roger that.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.