Heads Up: DUI Checkpoint This Weekend in Gilroy

A DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint is planned for this weekend in Gilroy, according to the police.

The Gilroy Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting the checkpoint on Saturday, Feb. 28 at an undisclosed location within the city between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. on Sunday.

The deterrent effect of DUI checkpoints is a proven resource in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug involved crashes, police said. Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.

Officers will be checking drivers for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment, and also for proper licensing.

The department said it hopes to delay motorists only momentarily, and will use specially trained officers to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving.

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.

Some statistics from the Gilroy police:

In 2011, nearly 10,000 people were killed nationally in motor vehicle traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or higher. In California, this deadly crime led to 774 deaths because someone failed to designate a sober driver.

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. Based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, DUI checkpoints are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence.

“DUI Checkpoints have been an essential part of the phenomenal reduction in DUI deaths that we witnessed since 2006 in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety. “But since the tragedy of DUI accounts for nearly one third of traffic fatalities, Gilroy needs the high visibility enforcement and public awareness that checkpoints provide.”

Funding for this checkpoint is provided to Gilroy Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to continue to work together to bring an end to these tragedies.

If you see a suspected drunken driver, police ask you to call 911.

--Image via Shutterstock

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• Amazingly, Driver Escaped Uninjured Before Train Collision In Morgan Hill
• Need a New Job, Gilroy? California Highway Patrol is Hiring!
• Pedestrian Killed on I-880 Off-Ramp in Milpitas Has Gilroy Ties

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