Redlands PD to Conduct Sobriety Checkpoint Friday

The Redlands Police Department is working to ensure a safe and happy holiday season for drivers and their families. Officers will conduct a sobriety/drivers license checkpoint beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, Dec. 26, continuing through 3 a.m. Saturday.

In addition to checking for drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol and those driving without a valid license, officers will be handing out brochures from Mothers Against Drunk Driving to motorists passing through the checkpoint.

Drunk drivers often face jail time, the loss of their driver licenses, higher insurance rates, and dozens of other unanticipated expenses ranging from attorney fees, court costs, car towing and repairs, to lost wages due to time off from work. Even worse, a drunk driver can cause a traffic crash that claims someone’s life, or their own.

The Redlands Police Department wants to remind drivers of these important tips:

• Even one drink can impair your judgment and increase the risk of getting arrested for driving drunk - or worse, the risk of having a crash while driving.
• If you will be drinking, do not plan on driving. Plan ahead; designate a sober driver before the party begins.
• If you have been drinking, do not drive. Call a taxi, phone a sober friend or family member or use public transportation.
• Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel.
• If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement. Your actions may save someone’s life, and inaction could cost a life.

Remember, it is never safe to drink and drive: Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.

Funding for these checkpoints is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that reminds everyone: Report Drunk Drivers! Call 9-1-1.

DUI checkpoints are a component of the Redlands Police Department’s Responsible Redlands initiative. The Redlands Police Department, with the support of state agencies, including the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and Office of Traffic Safety, the County of San Bernardino, and local businesses and community groups, launched the initiative in late August to focus on enforcing alcohol laws.

The Responsible Redlands initiative aims to curb the problems related to binge and underage drinking in Redlands in order to achieve a safer, healthier community. The campaign includes DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols to identify intoxicated drivers, party patrols to enforce the City’s Social Host Ordinance, decoy operations to cite businesses and individuals who provide alcohol to underage persons and educational efforts for local businesses that serve alcohol. Responsible Redlands welcomes partnerships with alcohol retailers and establishments that serve alcohol.

The Responsible Redlands initiative addresses problems related to binge and underage drinking through ongoing strategic operations to enforce alcohol laws. It is a collaborative effort formed and led by the Redlands Police Department, supported by the Common Vision Coalition, local businesses and the State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control District Office and State Office of Traffic Safety.

--Information from Redlands Police Department