The California Highway Patrol is reporting that the numbers of DUI arrests made statewide over this 4th of July weekend is much higher than the numbers for 2008. In addition to the higher arrest count, statewide there have been at least four drunk driving fatalities.

In CA, the 4th of July holiday is always a big time for DUI arrests, and CHP is always on the lookout.

The hope each year is that the pervious years public awareness campaigns and efforts from groups like MADD and SADD would pay off by having fewer people make the choice to drive while impaired. From the numbers thus far, it appears that this, unfortunately, is not the case this year.

We will report on more numbers as they come in.