Laguna Beach is the drunk-driving arrest capital of California. Now, police are taking extreme action
LOS ANGELES – The roughly 7-mile stretch of Coast Highway in Laguna Beach is known worldwide for its postcard-perfect views and gateway to the city’s eclectic art and retail scene.
But it is also ground zero for drunken drivers.
Officials say Laguna Beach has had the highest number of DUI arrests per capita of any city of its size in California for at least two decades, in part because it is a magnet for many tourists and visitors who drive in for the day. While the city’s population is only about 22,000, Laguna Beach sees about 6.5 million visitors annually.
The situation has prompted Laguna Beach to embark on a new enforcement program that, if successful, could be a model for other communities.
When a suspected DUI driver is arrested in the city, the police department sends a letter to the business where the person had their last drink. The hope is that the information will help owners and employees recognize possible patterns, such as when patrons are leaving too drunk or act as a catalyst to retrain staff on signs of intoxication. While the letter doesn’t include the driver’s name, it has their blood alcohol content and the date, time and location of their arrest.
Officials say it supplements other anti-DUI efforts, including checkpoints and efforts to help educate patrons to the dangers of getting behind the wheel drunk. Still, the police department was making a couple of hundred DUI arrests a year.
“The data shows us this is a problem that we need to address and I think this is a really very innovative, collaborative and data-driven way of doing that,” Mayor Alex Rounaghi said. “Any time that we can save a life and prevent future deaths it’s important for us to do that.”
Authorities hope the notification system will raise awareness among merchants and help them be more aware of when customers have had one too many.
“It’s not intended to be punitive because the business owners don’t know what they don’t know,” Laguna Beach Police Chief Jeff Calvert said. “So it’s an opportunity for them to look at whether there’s a pattern with certain bartenders overserving or do some additional education with not only their bartenders, but their security staff.”
The proliferation of drunken drivers has been a persistent problem in beach communities across the state where tourists and residents frequently visit to imbibe at a swanky restaurant or a local bar just steps from the sand.
Huntington Beach got so fed up with drunk driving issues that it considered in 2010 publicly shaming arrestees by posting their names on Facebook.
In 2020, a woman was sentenced to 51 years to life in state prison for a DUI crash that killed three Las Vegas teenagers and seriously injured a fourth in Huntington Beach two years earlier.
The teens were in Huntington Beach for spring break early on March 29, 2018, when the Toyota Corolla they were riding in was struck from behind by a Hyundai Sonata while stopped at a red light at Pacific Coast Highway and Magnolia Street. The Toyota was pushed into a pole and caught fire. Officials testified that the Hyundai driver, Bani Duarte, had a blood alcohol content of 0.28%, more than three times the legal limit.
In Laguna Beach, residents for years have complained about the noise and quality of life issues that stem from late-night visitors to the city’s watering holes. The city’s geography – nestled between two other beach cities with robust nightlife – and its concentration of more than 130 establishments make it a prime location for DUI arrests, police say.
Sometimes the motorists have been drinking in town. Other times, they’re caught taking the picturesque drive along Coast Highway that connects Laguna Beach to other cities.
Between January and Dec. 26, the police department has sent 75 letters to restaurants, bars and hotels both inside the city and elsewhere in Orange County, Calvert said.
One letter, obtained by the Times that was sent to an establishment in Dana Point, explained the Alcoholic Beverages Control Department rules that note businesses “must monitor patrons alcohol consumption and avoid overserving individuals who show signs of intoxication.”
“We encourage your establishment to review and reinforce policies and practices regarding alcohol service to prevent similar incidents in the future and uphold public safety,” the letter reads.
Ivan Spiers, who owns several restaurants in Laguna Beach including Mozambique and Skyloft, said the letters don’t fix the problem of drunken drivers.
“It’s bureaucracy and a waste of money and time,” he said.
Bartenders are trained to assess patrons, but when the bar is crowded, often one person is buying drinks for a whole group. “It’s very hard to control,” he said.
But city officials and residents say something new is needed.
Crime statistics provided by the police department show that most of the arrests in Laguna Beach stem from drugs or alcohol use. In 2022, the top three causes for arrests in the city were for DUI, drugs and disorderly conduct.
In 2021, Laguna Beach police made 269 DUI arrests up from 247 a year earlier, according to the most recent data available from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
In 2020, the city had 42 crashes that were alcohol related. In 2021 and 2022, there were 50 and 55 crashes, respectively, that were alcohol related, according to city data.
It’s not just Laguna Beach that’s dealing with drunk driving. In 2019, Orange County made more than 11,100 DUI arrests, according to the most recent data available from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The number of drunken driving fatalities, which had dropped to 966 in California in 2019, surged statewide during the pandemic.
In 2020, the number of fatal DUI crashes in California was 1,180. A year later, it jumped to 1,370. Meanwhile, driving under the influence arrests the state declined from 124,141 in 2019 to just under 96,000 in 2020, according to a 2023 report by the state’s Office of Traffic Safety.
Heidi Miller, who owns several businesses in Laguna Beach including a clothing store and newsstand, applauded the effort to get a handle on instances of drunken driving in the city.
Miller has seen the aftermath of several crashes downtown, including one last year in which a motorist drove across Pacific Coast Highway and crashed into the boardwalk at Main Beach. The person was later arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a Daily Pilot report.
“People joke that we’re the DUI arrest capital of California, but for me, it’s not such a bad thing. It means that our police department is on top of things,” she said. “We’re watching out for – not only our residents – but the people that are passing through our town.”