DUI checkpoint planned this weekend
– Atascadero Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI/drivers license checkpoint on Friday, Sept. 4, between the hours of 7 p.m. – 1:30 a.m.
Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment and checking drivers for proper licensing delaying motorists 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. Drugs which may impair driving not only include illegal narcotics, but many prescription drugs, marijuana, and even some over-the-counter medications.
In California, this deadly crime led to 802 deaths and nearly 24,000 serious injuries in 2012. Nationally, the latest data shows nearly 10,000 were killed by an impaired driver. “Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed 2 lives and resulted in 20 injury crashes harming 34 of our friends and neighbors,” said Atascadero Police Sergeant Caleb Davis
DUI Checkpoints are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence. Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public.
Drivers caught driving impaired can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to include jail time, fines, fees, DUI classes, and other expenses that can exceed $10,000.
Funding for this checkpoint is provided to Atascadero Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
