DUI Checkpoint In Santa Monica This Weekend

SANTA MONICA, CA – The Santa Monica Police Department will be conducting a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Driver’s License Checkpoint on March 16 at an undisclosed location within the city limits between the hours of 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.

California has seen an increase in drug-impaired driving crashes in recent years. SMPD supports the new effort from the Office of Traffic Safety that aims to educate all drivers that "DUI Doesn't Just Mean Booze," according to the SMPD press release. If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI; marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI, the press release read.

High Visibility Enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes, the press release said. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.

Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the Santa Monica Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to 'Report Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1'.

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