Christmas weekend DUI checkpoints

Saturday Night Christmas Eve 2011
6:53pm

Looks like cops got a little of the holiday cheer and are laying off the DUI checkpoints tonight.  There are a few areas that are doing “roving saturation patrols” which are when officers go out specifically looking for drunk drivers.

Remember, CHP is also on Maximum Enforcement which means all available officers are on duty and on the road….total traffic

12:53amUPDATE
(from Mrcheckpoint and total traffic)

Sylmar DUI checkpoint on San Fernando Rd and Hubbard – (www.mrcheckpoint.com)

Update 10:54pm

• Palm Desert DUI checkpoint on Monterey Ave by the mall
• Huntington Beach DUI checkpoint at Magnolia and Warner
• Westminster DUI checkpoint Beach Blvd at Bolsa Ave
• Correction the Grand and Francisco DUI checkpoint was actually in Escondido
• Poway DUI checkpoint at Valle Verde at Espola (east of Pamerado Rd)

More than a thousand people have been arrested for driving under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol in LA County in the past week. About 100 policing agencies are taking part.
That’s more than were arrested in the same time last year.

Maximum Enforcement Period will be between 6 this evening and midnight Monday, all available CHP officers will be on duty.
One constitutional requirement for a DUI checkpoint mandates that the checkpoint is scheduled in advance, and that certain details about the roadblock are announced to the public in advance.

Remember too, Metro is offering FREE rides on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Update 7:54pm

• Yucca Valley DUI checkpoint on 62 (Twentynine Palms Hwy) east of the movie theater between Acoma Trail and Yucca Trail … thanks again to @MrCheckpoint
• Anaheim DUI checkpoint on Anaheim Blvd and Santa Ana St
• Escondido DUI checkpoint at Grand Ave and Francisco Blvd – thanks @MrCheckpoint (www.mrcheckpoint.com)
• Irvine DUI checkpoint on Culver and Farwell (between Bryan and Trabuco) – thanks @notojail
• Lynwood DUI checkpoint on Long Beach Blvd at the 105 (thank you Total Traffic)

This first list from my friends at Total Traffic.

Los Angeles County DUI Checkpoints

• Studio City – Ventura Blvd at Big Oak (between Colfax and Tujunga), 8p-2a
• Hollywood – Santa Monica Blvd at Bronson (between Gower and the 101), 8p-2a
• Beverly Hills - La Cienega at Gregory Way (between Wilshire and Olympic), 9p-3a
• South Los Angeles – Western and Slauson, 7p-1a 
• Lynwood – undisclosed location, 7p-3a
• El Segundo, Gardena, Hawthorne, Hermosa Beach, Inglewood, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes Estates, Redondo and Torrance - saturation patrols until 2am.

Orange County DUI Checkpoints

• Santa Ana - McFadden between Raitt and Fairview, 7:30p-?
• Buena Park - undisclosed location and time (multi-agency)
• Anaheim, Tustin, Irvine, Laguna Beach – saturation patrols

Riverside and San Bernardino County (Inland Empire) DUI Checkpoints

• Riverside – undisclosed time and location (CHP run)
• Chino Hills - undisclosed location, 9p-3a
• Palm Desert - undisclosed location, 9p-3a
• Hemet – undisclosed location and time (multi-agency)
• Yucaipa, Chino Hills, Ontario, La Quinta, Riverside – saturation patrols

Santa Barbara County DUI Checkpoints

• None announced

San Diego County DUI Checkpoints

• Poway – undisclosed location, 7p-2a
• Oceanside – undisclosed location, 8p-3a

A comprehensive study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found, that when well-publicized sobriety checkpoints were conducted, alcohol-related crashes and fatalities decreased by more than 20 percent.

It’s called the  “Avoid 100″ safety campaign.  It includes DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols of officers on the lookout for motorists who are driving while impaired.