DUI Checkpoint Set for Saturday and Sunday

Impaired or unlicensed drivers are the target of a DUI checkpoint in Long Beach Saturday night through Sunday dawn, the Long Beach Police Department announced.

The checkpoint will be staged fron 8 p.m. Saturday through 4 a.m. Sunday in the Western side of the city, the police department stated.

"Checkpoints have proven to be an effective tool in reducing the number of people killed and injured in alcohol-involved crashes, and research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted regularly," the release stated.

Long Beach police Sgt. Aaron Alu wrote that all attempts will be made to delay drivers as little as is possible. Drivers caught driving impaired "can expect to go to jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000," he continued.

DUI collisions have claimed 13 lives and caused 274 injury crashes harming 388 of our friends and neighbors,” said Alu. It wasn't clear that all those folks lived in Long Beach but the crashes occurred here.

 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while also yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent. 

 “Deaths from drunk and drug-impaired driving are going down in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). "We must all continue to work together to bring an end to these tragedies.  If you see a drunk driver call 9-1-1.”

 Funding for this checkpoint is provided to Long Beach Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the NHTSA, targeting those who still don’t heed the message to designate a sober driver.

 For additional information, please contact Long Beach Police Traffic Section Sergeant Aaron Alu at (562) 570-7338.