LAPD Announces DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoint

What:
Driving-Under-the-Influence (DUI) and Drivers License Checkpoint

When:
Friday, Feb. 18, 2011
8 p.m. – 2 a.m.
Where:
West Slauson Avenue between Figueroa Street and Broadway
Los Angeles, California

Who:
Emergency Operations Division

Why:
To check drivers for signs of alcohol or drug impairment and check for proper licensing. Sobriety checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, as well as being an valuable means for heightening awareness of the dangers of impaired driving.

Officers will check for proper licensing and will strive to impact motorists only momentarily. If officers suspect a driver has been drinking or is impaired, they will conduct a field sobriety test. Those who fail may expect jail, vehicle storage fees, license suspension, insurance rate increases, fines, fees, driving-under-the-influence classes and other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

Statewide, overall traffic deaths have declined by 23 percent, from 3,995 in 2007 to 3,081 in 2009. Total traffic fatalities are at their lowest levels in six decades when the federal government began compiling figures. DUI deaths declined by 16 percent, from 1,132 in 2007 to 950 in 2009, according to federal statistics. Alcohol impaired deaths still made up the largest category of overall vehicle fatalities in 2009, with 31 percent of all deaths caused by a drunk or impaired driver.

“Everyone in California should be heartened with these figures,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). “But as encouraging as this is, we can’t let up on the efforts to encourage and support traffic safety. You can help make your community safe; if you see a Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1.”

Funding for this and other DUI checkpoints is provided to the LAPD by a grant from the OTS through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The program targets those who still don’t heed the message to designate a sober driver.

Contact:
For further information, please contact Officer Don Inman, LAPD Emergency Operations Division, at 213-486-0703.