Costa Mesa Police Department Traffic Safety Bureau will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Monday, March 21, 2011, on Bristol Street at Randolph Avenue between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, as well as being a valuable means for heightening awareness of the dangers of impaired driving.
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Officers will be checking drivers through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and or drug impairments. Officers will check for proper licensing and will strive to impact motorists only momentarily. If officers suspect that a driver has been drinking or is impaired, they will conduct a field sobriety test. If you fail, expect jail, vehicle storage fees, license suspension, insurance rate increases, along with fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.
Earlier this week, officers conducted DUI Saturation Patrols in an effort to keep the roadways safe around St. Patrick’s Day. Officers combined forces across the county through the Avoid program and through the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program. Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Costa Mesa is ranked 20th on the list of “Top 50 DUI Cities” in California (2008), based upon the number of alcohol related fatalities and injuries. Unfortunately, eight Orange County cities made the top 50 list. For a list of the “Top 50 DUI Cities” visit www.ots.ca.gov.
In 2010, each of the eight officers on the DUI enforcement team made at least 100 DUI arrests that year. The officers volunteered to work 3 month shifts with the primary focus of removing intoxicated drivers from the streets in Costa Mesa.
Statewide, overall traffic deaths 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 make 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 Costa Mesa Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, targeting those who still don’t heed the message to designate a sober driver.
MEDIA NOTES: To schedule an interview regarding the Costa Mesa Traffic Safety Bureau checkpoints, please contact Sergeant Dave Makiyama at (714) 754-4963 or via email at dmakiyama@ci.costamesa.ca.us.
To schedule an interview regarding impaired driving efforts and programs in California please contact Chris Cochran, California Office of Traffic Safety at (916) 905-3063 or via email at ccochran@ots.ca.gov. Supervisor Writing / Approving Release: David Makiyama, Sergeant
