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No deaths reported on county roads
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More from Local NewsSouthern California's heat wave sent thousands of people to Ventura County beaches on Labor Day weekend, making the local stretch of Highway 101 one of the busiest freeways in the Southland.
Despite the added traffic, however, no fatalities were reported on county roads and highways over the three-day weekend.
The California Highway Patrol made 27 driving-under-the-influence arrests in Ventura County, compared with 32 over Labor Day weekend last year.
Statewide, the CHP reported 1,580 DUI arrests over the weekend, compared with 1,749 last year.
There were 49 traffic-related fatalities in California, three more than recorded last Labor Day weekend, said Tom Marshall, a CHP spokesman in Sacramento. Twenty-six of those killed this year were not wearing seat belts, a statistic that troubles authorities, Marshall said.
"A lot of these people might be alive if they were wearing their seat belts," he said.
Ventura County sheriff's deputies reported 10 DUI arrests over the weekend and two traffic accidents involving driving under the influence.
Officer Shawna Davison, a spokeswoman for the CHP's Ventura office, reported 15 accidents locally over the weekend, 10 fewer than in the same period last year. Four of this year's accidents involved injuries, Davison said.
Oxnard police set up a DUI checkpoint from 6 p.m. to midnight Saturday along Oxnard Boulevard near Second Street. Police arrested two people on suspicion of driving under the influence. An additional 34 were cited for various driver's license violations.
Randy Pickens, a CHP officer in the Moorpark office, said there were relatively few traffic problems over the weekend considering the volume of vehicles on the roads. "Undoubtedly the heat kept a lot of people indoors here in the county," Pickens said.
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