Checkpoints are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence and provide the greatest safety for officers and the public.
Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint and looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment. They will also be checking to ensure drivers are properly licensed. DUI Checkpoints along with regularly scheduled high visibility DUI enforcement serves as a proven deterrent with the goal of removing impaired drivers and heightened awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
In 2010, over 10,000 people were killed nationally in motor vehicle traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or higher. In Californian, this deadly crime led to 791 deaths because someone failed to designate a sober driver. The age group with the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes was the 21-to-24 age group.
In 2011, Goleta Police investigated 3 fatal DUI collisions and18 injury DUI collisions. In Santa Barbara County - 8 individuals were killed in drunk driving wrecks in 2011.
The objective is to send a clear message to those who are considering driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and/or drugs: if you drive buzzed, drunk, or impaired by drugs you will go to jail. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while also yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.
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Comments
Tax dollars well spent. These people need to get the message: Drinking and driving is NOT cool.
billclausen (anonymous profile)
June 8, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm always home by my second or third beer. And I'm never out after 7. Everybody else is texting and talking and tailgating.
Riceman (anonymous profile)
June 11, 2012 at 2:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
There was a time in SB when the cops used their own judgement on who was too drunk, and if they were close to home. More than once I had officers follow me home to make sure I made there safe. Now days 2 beers and one is legally drunk. Why is it Americans always set limits low enough to make everyone a criminal ?
We now live in a time when a American can be arrested/rendered or killed by a Drone without charges and or held indefinitely just on one mans say so.
These so-called sobriety check points remind me of a third world country, not the USA. Not to mention the Police funding themselves with cars they seize from the poor and sell at 100% profit. Sounds more like Mexico or Columbia than Santa Barbara.
SmileySam (anonymous profile)
June 12, 2012 at 5:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)