The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s traffic services detail will be conducting a driving under the influence / driver’s license checkpoint at an undisclosed location in West Hollywood on Saturday between the hours of 7 p.m. and 3 a.m.
In a press statement, the department said: “The deterrent effect of DUI checkpoints is a proven resource in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug involved crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized DUI checkpoints and proactive DUI patrols are conducted routinely.”
“Over the course of the past three years in the contract cities policed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, DUI collisions have claimed 33 lives and resulted in 898 … crashes harming 1,330 of our friends and neighbors,” said Sgt. Daniel A. Dail of the traffic services detail.
Deputies will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment with officers checking drivers for proper licensing delaying motorists only momentarily. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving.
Recent statistics reveal that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems. A study of active drivers showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14 percent) than did for alcohol (7.3 percent). Of the drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than alcohol.
The Sheriff’s Department recommends that if you plan to go out and have a drink:
- Arrange rides home for your friends, family, co-workers and yourself before the drinking begins.
- Identify and provide free non-alcoholic drinks or other promotional items to your designated driver.
- If you are hosting a party limit drinks to your guests or patrons. Don’t serve more than one or two over several hours.
- Cut back on the amount of drinks you plan to bring to any party – and provide plenty of food.
There should be DUI checkpoint WEEKLY on Palm Ave at Cynthia!! Every Friday, Saturday night after midnight there are drunks walking to their cars or pulling out of the parking lots near the carwash and driving recklessly, fighting, blaring their music….all until 4am! Constant disregard for this neighborhood and it’s citizens! Get it together CITY OF WEHO! Cynthia and Palm can also get you your ticket quotas for drivers running the stop signs or not stopping at all, within a few hours your quotas for the month would be earned! Believe it!
the dui check point conducted today was illegal one on fairfax south of santa monica blvd. There was no sign advising motorist that there is dui checkpoint ahead as requied by law. Basically anyone that get arrested can easily get the charges dismissed.
The reason to have DUI checkpoints “over and over again” is to knock sense into people who are tempted to drink and drive. Where does drinking and driving happen? In the “night life area,” LGBT or otherwise. Checkpoints are highly visible, highly publicized events meant to deter drinking and driving in the first place. Checkpoints have been shown to have the potential to lower DUI fatality rates by up to 20 percent by virtue of their deterrence. People go through them, drive past them, hear about them via multiple grapevines and get the ongoing impression that drunk driving is dangerous,… Read more »
Whats up with all these DUI check point over and over again in only the #lgbt night life area? The last one was smack in front of RAGE and slowed down individuals ability to come eat, shop and play in #weho. Is revenue from DUI tickets being the driving force in this repeated target of the #lgbt #nightlife? Cant they set up infront of something on sunset blvd? Or in front on club DBA?
DUI checkpoints are a pain in the a$$ to the average law biding citizen. Innocent until proven guilty As free citizens, we should be able to move unharassed by authorities They also are trained to deceive in order to get you to mistakenly give your permission to search your car and person (permission they NEED without probable cause) I expect more from a City like WEHO portrayed as defenders of rights and equality Install a forced breathalyzer in every car instead – it would be more constitutional than this!!! An innocent citizen should not be stopped at ANY ‘Checkpoint’ to… Read more »