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Drivers License Checkpoint
updated: Jan 16, 2013, 5:23 PM
Source: Ventura Police Department
The Ventura Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License
Checkpoint on Saturday, January 19, 2013 at an undisclosed location within the city limits
between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool
effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved
crashes. 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 for signs of alcohol
and/or drug impairment. Officers will also check for proper licensing and will strive to
delay motorists only momentarily. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license
suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses
that can exceed $10,000.
"Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed 3 lives and resulted
in 55 injury crashes harming 82 of our friends and neighbors," said Sgt. Ryan Weeks of the
Ventura Police Department Traffic Unit.
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. Checkpoints are
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."
Funding for this checkpoint is provided to The Ventura Police Department by a grant from
the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, targeting those who still don't heed the message to designate a sober
driver.
MEDIA NOTES: To schedule an interview regarding the Ventura Police Traffic Safety
Operations, please contact Sgt. Ryan Weeks at 805 339-4309 or via email at
rweeks@venturapd.org. To schedule an interview regarding impaired driving efforts and
programs in California please contact Chris Cochran, California Office of Traffic Safety
at (916) 509-3063 or via email at chris.cochran@ots.ca.gov.
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