Glendale PD to Hold DUI Checkpoint

The Glendale Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint April 20, at an undisclosed location, officials reported.

Authorities seek to use this checkpoint as a deterrent, citing it as a proven resource in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug involved crashes.

Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol,or drug impairment. Officers will also check drivers for proper licensing.

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 percent or higher. In California, this led to 774 deaths.

“Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have resulted in 65 injury crashes harming 90 of our friends and neighbors,” said Sgt. Rich Phillips of Glendale Police.

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. Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public.

“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.

Funding for this checkpoint is provided to Glendale Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the NHTSA.