6 days Ago By Daily Republic Staff
FAIRFIELD — The Police Department's traffic unit will be conducting a DUI / Driver's License Checkpoint on Saturday in the area of North Texas Street and East Travis Boulevard. The checkpoint will be from 6 p.m.
to midnight. Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment, and checking for proper licensing. "DUI Checkpoints like this one are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence.
Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public," the department stated. "The deterrent effect of High Visibility Enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.
" It is part of the “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze” campaign. "If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI.
Everyone should be mindful that if you’re taking medication – whether prescription or over-the-counter – drinking even small amounts of alcohol can greatly intensify the impairment effects," the department stated. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail time, fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspensions and other expenses that can exceed $10,000, "not to mention the embarrassment when friends and family find out." Designate a driver or call for a ride.
If anyone sees someone driving they believe to be under the influence, call 911. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration..
