In a crackdown aimed at boosting highway safety during the Easter holiday season, Jalisco traffic police netted hundreds of motorists in the Lake Chapala area for diverse violations of the law.
Implementing a program primarily aimed at keeping drunk drivers off the road, officers were out in force daily from March 28 through April 7, conducting random spot checks at seven points along the Chapala-Jocotepec corridor. According to information released by Chapala headquarters of the recently renamed Secretaria de Movilidad (SDM), agents issued a 1,461 traffic tickets over the two-week period.
Local SDM commandant Alberto Alvarez Ahumada told the Reporter that the vast majority of the citations were issued for drivers and passengers who were not wearing seat belts and motorcyclists riding without helmets. Only one driver breathalyzed for alcohol consumption registered a sufficient degree of low grade intoxication to merit a ticket. A total of 11 vehicles were impounded for lack of proper documentation.
Such intense police presence appears to have put drivers on guard. Just 14 highway accidents occurred during the busy vacation period, with two fatalities reported in separate incidents. Most others, including a six-car pile up in front of Walmart, were minor fender-benders.