Murrieta Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint Friday

Murrieta police plan to conduct a DUI/driver's license checkpoint Friday.

The checkpoint will take place from 7 p.m. Dec. 14 to 3 a.m. Dec. 15 at an undisclosed location within the city, Murrieta police Traffic Sgt. Jim Gruwell announced, in a news release.

Officers will strive to delay motorists only momentarily as they contact drivers passing through for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment, Gruwell said. Drivers will also be checked for proper licensing, he said.

The deterrent effect of DUI checkpoints is a proven law enforcement resource in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol- or drug-involved crashes, the sergeant said.

“Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed four lives and resulted in 69 injury crashes harming 93 of our friends and neighbors,” Gruwell said.  

"Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough."

Funding for the checkpoint was provided to Murrieta Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.