If you’re planning on having a drink anywhere in the City of Lathrop this weekend, you may want to think twice before climbing behind the wheel.

On Saturday, from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m., Lathrop Police Services will be executing a sobriety checkpoint somewhere in the community to educate the public about the dangers of drinking and driving during the holiday season.

“Unfortunately, this time of year is when we see more people driving impaired,” Lathrop Police Chief Ryan Biedermann said. “There is no excuse for driving after drinking or using drugs that impair.

“There are many ways to get home safely without driving.”

And while the announced checkpoint for tonight will stop early on Sunday morning, more Lathrop Police officers than normal will be on the streets in the coming days looking for drivers that are operating their vehicle while impaired – an effort that is being funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety that is made possible through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

And there are going to be a lot of people hitting the roadways in the coming week to travel to visit family and enjoy a Christmas holiday that falls in the middle of the week – prompting lots of employees to take the entire week off which provides more time for traveling and extended trips.

The American Automobile Association (AAA) estimates that more than 4.3 million Americans will travel this holiday season compared to last, with more than 115 million people planning to travel from Saturday, Dec. 21 through the start of 2020 according to their estimates.

And with the Christmas holiday fast approaching, AAA has announced that it will once again provide its complementary “Tipsy Tow” service on Christmas Eve to anybody that has had too much to drink and requires a tow of their vehicle for up to 10 miles to get home safely. While AAA members can call to utilize the service, anybody who calls from 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve through 6 a.m. on Christmas Day is eligible to utilize the service under certain conditions – the vehicle can only be towed for up to 10 miles to a home or a hotel where the person is, or plans to become, a guest. Services like flat repair, complementary gas, and other AAA services intended to help keep vehicles on the road will not be provided with the Tipsy Tow service.

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.