Statewide, the California Highway Patrol will be on heightened alert with extra patrols for the long holiday weekend, while local police departments will also be on the lookout for impaired drivers during the upcoming New Year’s celebration.

Statistics released Tuesday by the CHP for the Christmas weekend Maximum Enforcement Period, MEP, which ran from Friday, Dec. 23 at 6 p.m. through Monday, Dec. 26 at 11:59 p.m. showed 16 fatal collisions in the CHP jurisdiction statewide, up from 10 in 2015.

A total of 17 lives were lost in those collisions, including 14 in vehicles, with 10 of those killed not wearing seatbelts. The CHP information also indicates that one motorcyclist and two pedestrians were killed as well. The CHP reported a total of 535 DUI arrests during the long holiday enforcement effort over the Christmas weekend, down from 608 in 2015.