DUI Checkpoint In Newark This Weekend

NEWARK, CA — A DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint will be held in Newark this Saturday night, March 16, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. The Newark Police Department Traffic Unit has not announced the exact location, but it will be a known trouble spot for drunk driving while taking into consideration safety for stopping vehicles.

According to the police department, California has seen a disturbing increase in drug-impaired driving crashes in recent years. The Newark Police Department supports the new effort from the Office of Traffic Safety that aims to educate all drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.”

If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI.

Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI.

If you scoff at DUI Checkpoints, research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely. This includes both DUI Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols.

"Over the course of the past three years, Newark PD officers have investigated 13 DUI collisions which have claimed 3 lives and resulted in another 15 injuries," police said in a release. "Studies of California drivers have shown that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems. A study of active drivers showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14 percent) than did for alcohol (7.3 percent). Of the drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than alcohol."

Newark PD offers these reminders to ensure you have a safe night of fun that doesn’t involve a DUI:

• Decide before you go out whether you plan to drink or drive. You can’t do both.
• If you plan to drink, designate a sober driver before going out or map out another safe way to get home by taxi, ride-share or public transportation. You can also look up designated driver services in your area using the National Directory of Designated Driver Services (NDDDS).
• See your friend or other patron impaired trying to get behind the wheel? Take the keys and help them make other arrangements to get where they are going safely.
• Report drunk drivers – Call 911.

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