Q You have discussed the problem of recidivism among drunken drivers, concluding that harsher punishments would solve the problem. It turns out there is another way. In New Mexico, there is a program that has dramatically reduced the rate of recidivism as well as crashes, injuries and fatalities due to drunken driving. Courts can order the installation of an ignition interlock on cars of first-time convicted drunken drivers. The interlock uses a Breathalyzer to determine if the car can be operated. I think California is long overdue for this program.

Dan Arias

Santa Cruz

A And one is coming. First-time and repeat DUI offenders in Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tulare counties must have an interlock device installed on vehicles they own or operate under a new law that takes effect Thursday. It’s a five-year pilot program that prohibits a driver from being issued a license following a suspension or revocation for any DUI violation until that person provides proof that an ignition interlock device has been installed. These drivers will not be able to start their vehicles if there is even a slight trace of alcohol in their blood — even from as little as one drink. More than two dozen states require these devices for repeat offenders, and 11 others require them for anyone convicted of driving drunk. These laws are credited with reducing repeat DUI offenses by 70 percent in West Virginia and 60 percent in New Mexico.

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Already arrested for DUI in Sacramento, California?

Sobriety will be a good idea if you plan to drive in Sacramento or Citrus Heights tomorrow or Saturday.

The Citrus Heights Police Department plans to conduct a DUI checkpoint starting at 7:30 p.m. and running until 3 a.m. on Madison Avenue at San Juan Avenue, according to a news release.

The Sacramento Police Department will do the same Saturday in an undisclosed area in north Sacramento at an undisclosed time.

Drivers going through the checkpoints will checked for valid driver’s licenses and signs of being impaired by drugs or alcohol.

Source

Last year, 24,000 cars were impounded at California checkpoints for the maximum of 30 days and critics say the practice is done to raise revenue for local governments. Statewide, the checkpoints collected last year an estimated $40 million in towing fees and police fines statewide. The article raises the question whether the seizure of property is fair and legal. Later this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will consider a challenge to the constitutionality of California’s 30-day impound law.

More from NYT

A California investigation has found that sobriety checkpoints have caught more unlicensed motorists than drunks, creating a cash cow for local police departments that impound vehicles — mostly from minority drivers and often from illegal immigrants. But the 30-day seizures may be illegal.

In mounting such operations, police officers also racked up tens of millions of dollars in overtime pay.

The investigation, by California Watch and the Investigative Reporting Program at the University of California-Berkeley, says that last year, local police earned about $40 million from fines and towing fees, which cities split with tow companies. And cops collected $30 million in overtime — paid for by the federal government — for staffing the DUI checkpoints.

Other findings:

• Sobriety checkpoints frequently screen traffic in or near Latino neighborhoods. In cities with majority Latino populations, police are seizing cars at three times the rate of cities with small minority populations.

• Impounds appear to defy a 2005 federal appellate court ruling that police cannot seize vehicles just because the driver is unlicensed. More than 24,000 cars and trucks were impounded at checkpoints last year, even though only 3,200 motorists were arrested for drunken driving.

• Police departments frequently overstaff checkpoints with officers, all of whom earn overtime.

Locate a California DUI Attorney

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Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In 2008, 11,773 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher.

In California 1,029 were killed on state and local roads driving with a .08 blood alcohol content or higher with another 28,457 injured in alcohol involved collisions.

That is why ‘Avoid the 8-Yolo County’ announced it will be joining with law enforcement across California and the nation until Jan. 3, to take part in the ‘Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest’ crackdown on impaired driving.

Across the state there will be 300 DUI/Drivers License Checkpoints, DUI Task Force operations, and hundreds of local DUI roving patrols in an effort to make this holiday season free from another senseless dunk driving death.

“We continue to see far too many people suffer debilitating injuries and loss of their loved ones as a result of impaired driving. This careless disregard for human life must stop,” said Landy Black, chief Davis PD. “To help ensure that this happens, the Avoid the 8 partners are dedicated to arresting impaired drivers. To help, we ask everyone, ‘Report Drunk Drivers. Call 911!’”

Avoid the 8-Yolo County law enforcement agencies will staff officers at a checkpoint in the city of West Sacramento, and two local DUI Patrols in every community in Yolo County. CHP will be staffing 80 percent of all available officers during the 4 Day Christmas and New Years holiday weekends.

In 2008 1,397 individuals were arrested for DUI in Yolo County, there were 11 DUI related deaths with 129 DUI related injuries.

The DUI Enforcement Campaign is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Source

A new push to set up more sobriety checkpoints during the holiday season will include the city of Sacramento, where police have had to deal with a high number of drunken-driving deaths and injuries.

“Our whole objective is to let people know that law enforcement is out in full force,” said Chris Murphy, head of the California Office of Traffic Safety. “DUI arrests are higher than they have been since 1993. Anyone with a cell phone is looking for a weaving car. The chances of getting caught are better than ever.”

A record $8 million will be given to 148 law enforcement agencies — up from $5 million — to conduct the most-ever sobriety checkpoints in the state in 2010.

The state plans to make 2010 the “Year of the Checkpoint,” during which 2,500 sobriety checks will be conducted through the year. A total of 250 checkpoints are planned through Jan. 3.

At least eight checkpoints will be in Sacramento County in the next two weeks, Murphy said. A sobriety checkpoint is planned for tonight in the south area near 47th Avenue and Highway 99.

Figures from 2007, the most recent statistics available, show that of cities larger than 250,000 population, Sacramento has the highest rate of traffic death and injury and also the highest rate of death and injury in alcohol-related accidents, the state OTS reports.

The National Transportation Traffic Safety Administration reports that 26 people were killed in drunk-driving accidents in 2008 in Sacramento County, down from 36 deaths in 2007.

The California Highway Patrol reports the number of alcohol-involved injuries also fell, from 1,353 in 2007 to 1,237 in 2008 for the entire county.

“Most of our large cities have significant problems,” Murphy said. “It just so happens that of the top 13 cities, Sacramento was ranked as having more alcohol-related crashes.

“I know the Sacramento Police Department is doing everything they can. They have new grants that were awarded, and they are stepping up the number of checkpoints in 2010. It’s not for lack of effort. They really are working diligently.”

Research indicates that DUI checkpoints are a major contributer to the declines. Also important in cutting drunken driving is the ease of calling 911 and the prevalence of cell phones.

“There are so many people who drive our streets drunk,” Murphy said. “Anyone with a cell phone could report you to law enforcement.”

Source

Local activist groups aired their concerns that DUI checkpoints in Fontana, California, are abused in order to enforce immigration.

Two organizations, including the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), raised the issue that was addressed at an October 28 Fontana City Council meeting. These groups say checkpoints are routinely held in heavily-Latino areas and near school property in order to target illegal immigrants.

The Fontana Police Department says the only checkpoints held around schools have been conducted after school hours. Further, the Department points out racial profiling is illegal and not conducted by its officers. They claim all immigration issues are handled separately once a suspect is booked and handed over to the sheriff.

However, San Bernardino County recently renewed the 287 (g) program – this allows police officers to act as immigration enforcers. An officer may request proof of citizenship during an arrest proceeding and turn a person in if no proof is available.

Community activists point out very few DUI arrests are actually made at checkpoints, but the police department makes money on the effort by impounding vehicles. Vehicles operated without lawful insurance or by an illegal immigrant are regularly impounded when checkpoints are held in areas heavily populated with Latinos.

Opponents of the checkpoints say these checkpoints are a public nuisance that clearly have motives other than DUI enforcement. They further question whether checkpoints are legal under Fourth Amendment protections. Regardless of these complaints, however, it is clear the checkpoints will not cease any time soon.

The Police Department says it will not stop the checkpoints as a result of these complaints. In fact, the Department has announced it received a $150,000 grant that will allow it to continue placing DUI checkpoints in the area to apprehend and remove dangerous drivers from the road. The monies will also be dedicated to public education.

Source

Looking for a California DUI Attorney?

The Livermore and Brentwood police departments are planning to hold sobriety and drivers license checkpoints over the next seven days.

The DUI checkpoints will be held in areas with a high occurrence of DUI crashes or arrests. All drivers should expect to be delayed for a moment while an officer checks to make sure their license is current and looks for signs of drunkenness.

The Livermore checkpoint will be held in the evening hours of Saturday, and the Brentwood checkpoint the following Friday, Aug. 21.

Both DUI checkpoints will be paid for with grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety.

Source

DUI Checkpoints

While I personally disagree with the constitutionality of DUI checkpoints they do happen every week. We post all the California DUI checkpoints we can here, but for other states DUI checkpoints news try the DUI Checkpoint Blog.

Police will conduct a DUI checkpoint 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, through 3 a.m. Sunday on Tennessee Street, south of Park Avenue in Redland, CA.

The DUI checkpoint will be set up for southbound traffic, according to a press release issued by Redlands city spokesman Carl Baker.

Grant funding for the sobriety checkpoint was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Have you been accused of a Redlands, CA DUI?

When you are accused of a Redlands DUI you must seek legal counsel ASAP. A DUI lawyer specializing in California DUIs know the loopholes in California DUI Laws that can free you of a Redlands, California DUI charge or minimize the penalties you will pay at the very least.

Redland, California DUI Lawyers

CA DUI-Drunk Driving defense attorney Manuel J. Barba provides high quality and affordable Redlands Drunk Driving defense representation. Attorney Manuel J. Barba defends persons arrested for DUI-Drunk Driving throughout the Inland Empire and Riverside County, including Banning, Beaumont, Blythe, Cathedral City,  Corona, Desert Hot Springs, Hemet, Indio, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Norco, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Riverside and Temecula. Contact Redland, California DUI lawyer Manuel Barba today for a free consultation at your conveniance.