The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department will conduct a DUI/driver license checkpoint on Saturday an undisclosed location in West Hollywood, between the hours of 7 p.m. and 4 a.m.
Deputies will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment with officers checking drivers for proper licensing. The process will delay motorists only momentarily. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which now accounts for a growing number of impaired driving crashes.
DUI checkpoints have been proven to reduce the number of people killed and injured in alcohol- or drug-involved crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20% when well-publicized DUI checkpoints DUI patrols are conducted routinely. DUI checkpoints are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests.
In California, driving under the influence led to 867 deaths and over 23,000 serious injuries in 2013. Nationally, the latest data shows over 10,000 people were killed by an impaired driver. Over the course of the past three years in the contract cities such was West Hollywood policed by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, DUI collisions have claimed 33 lives and resulted in crashes causing 1330 injuries.
The California Office of Traffic Safety Designated Driver VIP mobile app (DDVIP) now is available for free download on iOS and Android devices. Launched last year, the DDVIP app allows users to order a sober ride from Uber, Lyft or Curb – all from one screen.
Drivers caught driving impaired can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to include jail time, fines, fees, DUI classes other expenses that can exceed $10,000.
