Driving Home Accident Dangers : Safety: CHP simulation shows the results of not wearing seat belts. Authorities plan checkpoints and extra patrols to combat drunk driving on New Year’s weekend.

Crash test dummies that were not wearing seat belts were violently thrown from rolling vehicles in highway accident simulations staged Thursday by the California Highway Patrol.

The chilling spectacle came after at least 23 deaths statewide during the Christmas weekend. In 21 of those, the victims were not wearing seat belts.

Auto accidents killed at least seven people in Los Angeles County over the holiday, the CHP said.

The demonstration and statistics were presented at a CHP news conference at its central Los Angeles office aimed at increasing driver safety during the upcoming New Year’s weekend, one of the most dangerous driving weekends of the year.

It’s part of an annual campaign reminding drivers to buckle up themselves and their children, stay within speed limits and, above all, avoid driving drunk.

Last year, 31 Californians were killed in car accidents in the two days before New Year’s. In more than half the incidents, the driver had been drinking, CHP statistics show.

Annual alcohol-related auto deaths have dropped by nearly 40% in the last five years, the CHP said.

But officers said holidays statistics are different: Drunk driving deaths during holiday weekends have dropped just 6% in the same period.

“People use much more alcohol on holiday weekends than they normally do, because it’s part of the celebration,” said Ernie Garcia, CHP spokesman. “Often, it turns into abuse.”

Seat belts and child car seats are more crucial than ever under such conditions, Garcia said.

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This weekend, 80% of all local CHP officers will be on duty, patrolling freeways and county streets.

The CHP plans at least one sobriety checkpoint in an undisclosed location in Baldwin Park on Saturday. In addition, two special units of CHP officers will patrol west and south Los Angeles and Pasadena during the weekend, Garcia said.

Another checkpoint will be set up by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division in Pacoima.

Checkpoint locations are chosen to target the neighborhoods hardest hit by drunk driving in recent years, Garcia said.

If arrested, first-time offenders face stiff penalties. Those convicted may pay as much as $11,000 in fines, insurance increases and attorneys fees, the CHP said.

Additionally, they might serve up to six months in jail and three to five years’ probation.

Multiple convictions can lead to felony charges, a revoked driver’s license and up to four years in prison.

To dramatize the dangers of not using seat belts, CHP officers used a machine that rotated a truck cab, simulating a car rolling over and over. The crash test dummies within--one the size of an adult and two the size of children--showed that accident victims are, at best, thrown about the interior of the car. At worst, victims are thrown through windows, their limbs wrenched and crushed by moving metal.

The demonstration showed what would happen if a car going 35 mph rolled several times.

“At higher speeds, the impact would be much, much worse,” Garcia said.