SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A DUI/Driver's Licence checkpoint is set to be conducted on the night of Saturday, January 5, 2013 by the Santa Maria Police Department. Between 6:00pm and 2:00am, officers will be looking for drivers under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, as well as checking for proper licensing. The funding for the checkpoint is provided by a grant received by the Santa Maria Police Department from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information, see story below.
Story provided by the Santa Maria Police Department
The Santa Maria Police Department Traffic Bureau will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint on Saturday, January 5, 2013 between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes. Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.
Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment. Officers will also check for proper licensing and will strive to delay motorists only momentarily. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.
"Over the course of the past three years, 518 DUI collisions have claimed 3 lives and resulted in 137 injury crashes, harming over 150 of our friends and family members. Don't take the risk," said SMPD Traffic Sgt. Valle.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while also yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent. Checkpoints are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence and provide the greatest safety for officers and the public.
"Deaths from drunk and drug-impaired driving are going down in California," said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). "But that still means that hundreds of our friends, family and co-workers are killed each year, along with tens of thousands who are seriously injured. We must all continue to work together to bring an end to these tragedies. If you see a Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1."
Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the Santa Maria Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, targeting those who still don't heed the message to designate a sober driver.
