Streetbeat

DUI Checkpoint Nets 10 Arrests

The Laguna Beach Police Department conducted a DUI/driver’s license checkpoint on Aug. 17 in the area of Coast Highway and Aliso Beach between 9 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. LBPD reported that 2,285 vehicles drove through the checkpoint. Of those vehicles, 784 drivers were screened, which resulted in nine people being arrested for DUI, one person being arrested for an outstanding DUI warrant, and two people being issued citations for driving on suspended licenses.

“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,” LBPD officials said in a statement.

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. Ninety percent of California drivers approve of checkpoints.

Drivers caught driving impaired and charged with DUI can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to be approximately $13,500. This includes fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspension, and other expenses not to mention possible jail time.

Prior to the checkpoint, LBPD reminded drivers that “DUI doesn’t just mean booze. Prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, can impair and result in a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs.”

The Laguna Beach Police Department will be conducting numerous DUI education/enforcement details throughout 2019 in an ongoing commitment to lowering deaths and injuries on local streets and highways.

Funding for this checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For more information, contact Lt. Tim Kleiser at 949-464-6655 [email protected].