DUI Checkpoint Planned In Petaluma

PETALUMA, CA — A DUI/driver's license checkpoint is planned this Friday night in Petaluma. The Petaluma Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting the checkpoint between 6 p.m. Friday, July 27 and 3 a.m. Saturday, July 28, at an undisclosed location in the city, police Sgt. Jeremy Walsh said in a news release.

In addition to checking for drunk drivers, officers will also be on the lookout for drug-impaired drivers, Walsh said.

"The Petaluma 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,'" Walsh said. "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."

Although Petaluma police did not disclose the location of the checkpoint, Walsh said "the deterrent effect of High Visibility Enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes."

Walsh noted that over the course of the past three years, Petaluma Police Department officers have investigated 48 DUI collisions which have claimed one life and resulted in another 59 injuries.

"DUI checkpoints like this one are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence," Walsh said. "Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public."

Funding for the checkpoint is provided to the Petaluma Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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