Heads Up: DUI Checkpoint Planned For Santa Rosa This Weekend

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- If you're going out drinking in or near Santa Rosa on Friday night, you may want to have a designated driver. Or if you'll be driving and won't be drinking, you'll want to make sure you've got your driver's license on you.

Why? Because the Santa Rosa Police Department traffic unit says it will conduct a DUI/drivers license checkpoint at an undisclosed location within city limits between 7 p.m. Friday, March 31 and 2:30 a.m. Saturday, April 1.

Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment with officers checking drivers for proper licensing delaying motorists only momentarily. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving.

Statistics state 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.

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 $15,000 not to mention the embarrassment when friends and family find out.

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

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