Remember, if you are drinking alcoholic beverages, bring a designated driver.

We can all make Tulare County a safer place by working together. As such, the California Highway Patrol will continue to enforce DUI violations to protect the safety of the public we serve. The CHP takes pride in our professionalism. One of the CHP’s main objectives is the reduction of DUI-related collisions. Driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs is the leading cause of fatal collisions. The MDR is now declining and in 2009, California experienced the lowest MDR in history at 0.95. The MDR is a measure of the number of persons fatally injured as a result of traffic collisions per 100 million miles driven. Historically, California achieves one of the lowest mileage death rates (MDR) in the nation. It is important to understand the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol. It is not our practice, nor do we condone, harassing downtown patrons. With regard to the assertion that CHP officers are lying in wait to harass the customers of several downtown businesses, this issue has been brought to the attention of all uniformed members of the Visalia CHP Area. It is my commitment to this community that the concerns described in each letter will be fully addressed to ensure we are consistent with our mission to provide the highest level of service. The comments asserted within both postings cause great concern to the CHP. 4, a second letter was published entitled “One CHP officer is downtown problem.” In his letter, Art Haddock reiterated a concern that at least one member of the CHP targeted selected downtown businesses to contact and harass patrons.

This letter is in response to an opinion article published in your July 28 edition titled “Tommy’s does not condone drinking and driving.” In that letter, the writer expressed concern that the California Highway Patrol was “lying in wait to harass our customers before ever even leaving their parking stalls.”

Chp traffic