Busy Holiday Traffic Weekend Anticipated In Mother Lode
Sonora, CA — The CHP is anticipating a busy weekend with visitors taking in late season recreation like fishing, camping, motorcycling and events like the Strawberry Music Festival.
CHP Officer Faustino Pulido anticipates holiday traffic to potentially start being evident as early as today and continuing through the weekend. The heaviest Labor Day traffic is typically on Monday when the bulk of the visitors collectively head home. That said, it remains to be known whether the extreme heat in the forecast will keep some people away, as an Excessive Heat Warning has been issued via the National Weather Service through late Monday for the Mother Lode.
Officer Pulido notes that all available CHP officers will be taking part in a maximum enforcement period (MEP) that will run just after 6pm on Friday through late Monday evening.
Statewide, during the 2016 Labor Day MEP, 38 people were killed in traffic collisions, an increase of almost 19-percent from 2015, according to data collected by the CHP. In addition, the CHP made more than 1,000 arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol over Labor Day weekend in 2016.
