The CHP formally declares a Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP) around every major holiday: winter holidays, New Year's, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving. During an MEP, all available officers work the roads, with DUI saturation patrols and checkpoints concentrated on the nights the crash data flags.
The limits that apply in California
- 0.08% BAC for drivers 21 and older in a private vehicle
- 0.04% for commercial license holders
- 0.01% for drivers under 21: effectively zero tolerance
- Cannabis DUI is charged under the same impaired-driving statute; there is no legal "limit" that makes driving high safe or lawful
A first DUI conviction in California typically costs well over $10,000 once fines, fees, license reinstatement, DUI school, and years of insurance surcharges are counted, before any jail time or ignition interlock requirement. The specifics are in our California DUI limits guide.
Sobriety checkpoints are constitutional in California and announced in advance by many agencies. Turning around illegally to avoid one is itself a violation that invites a stop.