Police partnership urges against DUIs

Newport Beach police are teaming up with Harbor LLC for the second time in a year to remind bar-goers the dangers and costs associated with drinking and driving.

In the alcohol-awareness campaign, patrons at Newport Beach bars along the Balboa Peninsula will begin to see posters plastered on business walls and in bathrooms reminding the public that the cost of a first DUI arrest can be upward of $12,000.

The goal is to get customers to call a cab or have a designated driver instead of getting behind the wheel and either getting arrested or becoming seriously injured in an accident.

In 2008, Newport Beach police arrested 677 drivers on suspicion of DUI — a 25% jump from the year before. This campaign is a combined effort with educational programs the department is doing with bar owners and bartenders.

— Joseph Serna