Deputies to Hold DUI Checkpoint in Laguna Niguel

Submitted by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department DUI Taskforce will be conducting a DUI/Driver License Checkpoint on Friday, June 5, 2015 in the city of Laguna Niguel between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. Deputies will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment along with checking drivers for proper licensing. When possible, specially trained deputies will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving.

In California, this deadly crime led to 802 deaths in 2012 because someone failed to designate a sober driver. Nationally, the latest data shows nearly 10,000 were killed by an impaired driver. “Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed 21 lives and resulted in 497 injuries,” said Sergeant Ray Wert of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Bureau. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to include jail time, fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

DUI Checkpoints are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUIarrests affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence. Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the deputies and the public.

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. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized DUIcheckpoints and proactive DUI patrols are conducted routinely. Nearly 90 percent of California drivers approve of DUI checkpoints.