SANTA MONICA—The Santa Monica Police Department will be conducting a Driver Under the Influence (DUI)-Driver’s License Checkpoint.  According to a press release from the SMPD, the operation is scheduled to take place on Friday, December 16 between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. at an undisclosed location within city limits.

The goal of the DUI checkpoints have proven an impact to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol and/or drug related collisions. Research has shown that accidents involving impaired drivers can be reduced by up to 20 percent, when enforcement checkpoints and proactive DUI patrols are conducted routinely.

During the checkpoint, traffic officers will be looking for obvious signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment and to check that drivers are in possession of a valid driver’s license. In 2013, California saw 867 persons killed from drunken driving crashes, and over 23,000 people seriously injured. National data shows that over 10,076 people were killed by impaired drivers. Recent statistics indicated that 30 percent of the drivers in fatal collision had traces of one or more drugs in their bodies. The study noted that more drivers tested positive for drug impairment (14 percent) than those for alcohol (7.3 percent).

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies. Nearly 90 percent of California drivers are in favor of DUI checkpoints.

The California Office of Traffic Safety provided a grant to the Santa Monica Police Department through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to fund the checkpoint. The Santa Monica Police Department would like to remind individuals to call 911 to report drunk drivers.