LAPD Ramps Up DUI Checkpoints This Week
- LAPD announced planned DUI checkpoints across the city this week to deter drunken driving. - Enforcement includes multiple checkpoints and increased patrols aimed at reducing impaired-driving incidents. - Drivers are urged to plan safe rides; violations could lead to arrests and vehicle impounds. (patch.com)
The Los Angeles Police Department is running DUI checkpoints and extra patrols across the city through Sunday, April 26. (lapdonline.org) LAPD’s April 20 notice lists seven operations for the week: saturation patrols Monday in Central and Mission, Tuesday in Hollywood, Wednesday in Central and 77th/Southeast, Friday in 77th, and Sunday in West Valley. It also lists five checkpoints from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on April 23, April 24, and April 26. (lapdonline.org) The checkpoint locations LAPD published are Vermont Avenue and 1st Street, Whittier Boulevard and Fresno Street, and Reseda Boulevard and Clark Street on Thursday, April 23; Santa Monica Boulevard and Bronson Avenue on Friday, April 24; and Wilshire Boulevard and Valencia Street on Sunday, April 26. LAPD said the locations can change or be canceled. (lapdonline.org) A checkpoint is a fixed roadblock where officers briefly stop drivers. A saturation patrol is a roving deployment of officers looking for signs of impaired driving in a defined area during set hours. (lapdonline.org) LAPD said the sites were chosen from data on impaired-driving crashes and arrests. The department said the program is meant to remove suspected impaired drivers from the road and warn other motorists before weekend traffic peaks. (lapdonline.org) The department said impaired driving is not limited to alcohol. Its notice says some prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and marijuana can also make driving illegal if they affect a driver’s ability to operate a vehicle safely. (lapdonline.org; dmv.ca.gov) California law makes it unlawful to drive under the influence of alcohol, to drive with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or more, or to drive under the influence of drugs. The same statute also sets a 0.04% blood-alcohol limit for commercial drivers. (california.public.law) The week’s enforcement is backed by a California Office of Traffic Safety grant passed through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The state grant program says applications must be tied to local crash data and one of its priority areas, including alcohol-impaired and drug-impaired driving. (lapdonline.org; ots.ca.gov) LAPD said a first-time DUI charge can bring average fines and penalties of about $13,500 and a suspended license. The California Department of Motor Vehicles says a DUI case can also trigger separate license action by DMV in addition to court proceedings. (lapdonline.org; dmv.ca.gov) For drivers in Los Angeles this week, the practical change is simple: more marked stops, more patrol cars, and more chances for an arrest between Monday, April 20, and Sunday, April 26. LAPD’s posted schedule gives the public the time windows, but not a guarantee that every operation will stay in place. (lapdonline.org)
