LANCASTER – California Highway Patrol Captain Steve Urrea told the Lancaster Criminal Justice Commission Wednesday that there were absolutely no fatalities in the CHP coverage area during the month of August.
Injury collisions are also down, as well as property damage only collisions, he said. Injuries were down from nine in July to two in August, while DUI arrests were down from 89 in July to 63 in August.
Urrea said the CHP was focusing on distracted drivers from September 5 through September 19. He said officers would be looking for anything from cell phone usage to drivers looking for songs on their IPod.
“Being distracted means not doing what you’re supposed to be doing,” he said.
Urrea said 27 citations were issued for distracted driving on Tuesday alone. He also said the CHP was planning more DUI checkpoints for the month of September.
The latest monthly crime statistics for the City of Lancaster were also presented at the meeting by Senior Criminal Justice Analyst Jim Kobolt. For the complete breakdown of crime statistics for the City of Lancaster for the period of August 7 to September 2011, click here .