A DUI checkpoint is to be carried out Friday by officers of the California Highway Patrol beginning at 6:30 p.m.
CHP Officer Josh Greengard issued a news release Friday morning announcing that officers of the Newhall Area Office are expected to conduct a “sobriety checkpoint in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County.”
The checkpoint is expected to remain in effect until 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Exactly where the checkpoint will be carried out is a detail the CHP plans on announcing just prior to it getting underway.
Motorists approaching the checkpoint will see informational signs advising them of a sobriety checkpoint ahead, Greengard said in the press release.
Once diverted into the lane, motorists will be detained only momentarily while an officer explains the purpose of the checkpoint.
The goal of the DUI checkpoint is to create awareness among the motoring public, to deter people from driving under the influence and to keep the streets safe for all, Greengard said.
Although checkpoints tend to reduce the number of drinking drivers on the road, the CHP will apprehend DUI drivers who fail to heed our warnings.
Even though arrest totals do not rise dramatically, the psychological influence a checkpoint has on the motoring public is invaluable.
Over the course of the Labor Day long weekend, more than a dozen motorists were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Officials with the CHP which had a maximum enforcement period and the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station took part in the arrests.
Across the state, CHP officers arrested 1,084 motorists on suspicion of DUI, up slightly from 1,071 arrested for the same thing last Labor Day weekend.
Greengard points out in the press release that sobriety checkpoints are done in accordance to the guidelines for checkpoint operations outlined in the Supreme Court decision, Ingersol vs. Palmer.
Traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked. If traffic volume becomes too heavy, vehicles to be checked will be selected by a pre-set standard, such as every fifth or 10th vehicle, in order to assure objectivity.
For further information, please feel free to contact the CHP at 661-294-5540
661-287-5527
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