DUI Checkpoints & Crime on the Road, Sobriety Checkpoints

Public Also Asked to Call 911 to Report Suspected Drunk Drivers

The holiday season, with its celebrations, parties, shopping and traveling to friends and family, puts more motorists in harm’s way of more potential impaired drivers. The Loma Linda Police Department will join law enforcement across the state as part of California’s Holiday DUI Crackdown Campaign, as well as encouraging the public to call 911 to report suspected drunk drivers. Funding for the special enforcement activities comes from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The checkpoint will be held on Saturday, May 23, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. at Redlands Blvd. near Mt.View Drive in the City of Loma Linda. The “Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest” Program is funded through a grant awarded to the City of Loma Linda.

2007 marked the first year since 1998 in which alcohol-related fatalities declined in California, dropping 8.3 percent. “California has worked very hard over the past five years to reverse the trend of increasing alcohol-related traffic fatalities,” said OTS Director Christopher J. Murphy. “Through an aggressive combination of various anti-DUI operations, including sobriety checkpoints, together with the public calling 911 when they see a drunk driver, we’re getting these dangerous drivers off the road.”

All too often, members of Loma Linda are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. These DUI/Drivers License checkpoints are an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as insuring drivers have a valid driver’s license. A major component of these checkpoints is to increase awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and to encourage sober designated drivers.

The public is also encouraged to call 911 to report drunk drivers and be ready to describe the vehicle, its location and direction of travel. The following clues can help motorists detect a drunk driver:

• Weaving/swerving in and out of the lane
• Weaving within the lane quite noticeably
• Travelling at speeds much slower than the flow of traffic
• Braking erratically or stopping in the lane
• Sudden stops for signal lights and slow start once they change
• Remaining at the signal lights once they turn green – asleep at the wheel
• Making wide turns and/or cutting the corner, striking the curb
• Headlights off at night or on high beams
• Driving with the turn signals on
• Straddling the center line of the road or lane lines
• The Driver looks intoxicated – starring straight ahead, face close to the windshield, and appears to by quite sleepy…
• Finally Aggressive Driving – speed, tailgating and multiple lane changes or unsafe passing may also be the tell-tale signs of intoxication

Our objective is to send a clear message to those who are considering driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and/or drugs – Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest. The public is encouraged to help keep roadways safe by calling 911 if they see a suspected impaired driver.

Gary Penrod – Sheriff / Coroner
San Bernardino County
Contact: Det. Kenneth Owens
Loma Linda Police Dept. 909-387-3545

ROD HOOPS, SHERIFF
SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY SHERIFF-CORONER DEPARTMENT
c/o Public Affairs Division
655 East Third Street
San Bernardino, California 92415-0061
Telephone:  (909) 387-3700

San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department
Current Press Release
Loma Linda Police Department Undertakes Special Holiday Dui Enforcement  –5/25/2009
REDLANDS BOULEVARD NEAR MT VIEW DRIVE  ,  Loma Linda
VICTIM:
SUSPECT:
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #
California SR22 Insurance
California Drunk Driving Laws, Penalties & Fines
Do I Really Need a DUI Attorney?

California Lemon Laws
The DUI Calculator