Some California officials are quite zealous about nabbing drunken drivers.
Chris Murphy, head of the state Office of Traffic Safety, spotted a driver on Highway 99 in Elk Grove weaving "coast to coast."
He followed her off an exit and called the California Highway Patrol as she pulled into a convenience store lot.
When she exited the store, Murphy was waiting. He grabbed her keys. Or at least he tried to. She had one finger hooked in the key ring. So, the traffic safety guy tugged one way, and the woman the other.
"She was looking at me like I was crazy," Murphy said.
Indeed!
To Murphy's relief, a CHP officer arrived just then.
The holidays are here. And the state is pushing the fight against DUI with sobriety checkpoints and a road-sign campaign: "Report Drunk Drivers, Call 911."
How well is California doing? It's hard to tell.
Alcohol-related roadway deaths were down 9 percent last year. That's encouraging. Officials hope it's the start of a trend.
However, in three of 10 California road deaths a driver had been drinking. And, there are more than 300,000 three-time DUI offenders on state roads.
In January, Mothers Against Drunk Driving will introduce a bill requiring ignition-locking devices on cars of convicted first-time offenders during their probationary period. If they don't blow clean, the car doesn't start.
Meanwhile, Murphy's office is funneling millions in federal grant money to police to set up sobriety checkpoints.
Representatives of the restaurant industry argue that police ought to spend more time focusing on troublesome multiple offenders.
That's missing the point, state officials say. It doesn't take a multiple offender to kill someone.
Murphy said his office funded 1,469 checkpoints last year. While they netted 5,366 DUI arrests, the goal with checkpoints is not to flood jails with tipsy drivers.
Police make a point of publicizing checkpoints beforehand. They want people to think twice. Studies elsewhere connect checkpoints with crash reduction, but officials here can't point to any California studies.
It's also hard to know how well the state's sign campaign works. It tells drivers to call 911 if they spot what appears to be a drunken driver. (Yes, it's considered an emergency, so for that you can use a hand-held cell phone while driving).
But officials don't keep statistics on calls. One reader says he has called many times, and even followed drivers he believed were drunk, but has never seen a CHP officer respond.
CHP spokeswoman Fran Clader said dispatchers do put out the word when a call comes in, but "unfortunately we may not always be in position" to respond.
Nevertheless, she said, the signs alone send a message: It's not just the CHP scouting for drinking drivers. Potentially, everyone is on patrol.
Call The Bee's Tony Bizjak, (916) 321-1059.
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