DUI Checkpoint Planned for Weekend

Following last week's holiday weekend DUI checkpoint, the Citrus Heights Police Department plans to enact another for the upcoming weekend.

Beginning Friday, Sept. 7, the CHPD's Traffic Unit will conduct the checkpoint at an undisclosed location within the city limits between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. 

The CHPD believes these DUI checkpoints to be a proven enforcement tool "effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes," according to a press release. The release goes onto to state research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.

Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint and looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment. Officers will also check drivers for proper licensing. CHPD hopes to delay drivers as little as possible during the checkpoint.

Drivers caught driving under the influence can expect to be arrested, jail time, license suspension, increased insurance rates, as well as any associated fines, fees, DUI classes and other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

According to a release, the checkpoints wll be placed in locations "that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence and provide the greatest safety for officers and the public."

“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). “But that still means that hundreds of our friends, family and co-workers are killed each year, along with tens of thousands who are seriously injured. We must all continue to work together to bring an end to these tragedies.  If you see a Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1.”

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