SSFPD Media Release: DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint

South San Francisco, CA   August 21, 2018 Submitted by SSFPD

The South San Francisco Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI Drivers License Checkpoint this weekend at an undisclosed location and time within the city limits. This is in conjunction with the nationwide Labor Day Summer Mobilization campaign from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the California Office of Traffic Safety.

 

In recent years, California has seen a disturbing increase in drug-impaired driving crashes. The South San Francisco Police Department supports the new effort from the Office of Traffic Safety that aims to educate all drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.”  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 deterrent effect of 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. 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.

 

DUI Checkpoints like this one are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence. Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public.

 

In California, alcohol involved  collisions  led to  I,155 deaths and nearly 24,000 serious injuries in 2014 because someone failed to designate a sober driver. Over the course of the past  three years South San Francisco Police Department officers have investigated almost 200 DUI collisions which have claimed three lives and resulted in another 71 injuries.

 

Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment, with officers checking drivers for proper licensing, delaying motorists only momentarily. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which now accounts for a growing number of impaired driving crashes. Everyone should be mindful that if you’re taking medication – whether prescription or over-the-counter- drinking even small amounts of alcohol can greatly intensify the impairment affects.

 

Studies of California drivers have shown that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems. A study of active drivers showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14 percent) than did for alcohol (7.3 percent). Of the drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than alcohol.

 

South San Francisco Police Department offers these reminders to ensure you have a safe night of fun that doesn’t involve a DUI:

 

  • Decide before you go out whether you plan to drink or drive. You can’t do
  • If you plan to drink, designate a sober driver before going out or map out another safe way to get home by taxi, ride-share or public transportation. You can also look up designated driver services in your area using the National Directory of Designated Driver Services (NDDDS) .
  • See your friend or other patron impaired trying to get behind the wheel? Take the keys and help them make other arrangements to get where they are going
  • Report drunk drivers – Call

 

People are encouraged to be a part of the designated driver very important person (“DDVIP”) program. As a DDVIP, you can ensure those drinking get home safely and get rewarded for it. Partnering bars and restaurants statewide have created non-alcoholic specialty drinks (“DDrinks”) for sober drivers: http://bit.ly/0        SDDrinks .

 

Recording Artists Against Drunk Driving (RADO) also offers a Designated Driver Rewards program at 43 college campuses statewide: http://collegeis radd.org/campus-partners /. Local bars and restaurants provide non-alcoholic drinks and/or food specials to DD’s.

 

Getting home safely is cheap, but getting a DUI is not! Drivers caught driving impaired and charged with DUI can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to be upwards of$13,500. This includes fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspension and other expenses not to mention possible jail time.

Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the South San Francisco Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

 

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Tamara
Tamara
5 years ago

Thank you! Much needed.