On Friday, the California Highway Patrol Newhall Area Office will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint in the unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. The checkpoint will begin at approximately 6:30 pm and conclude at approximately 2:30 a.m. Saturday, March 16, 2013.

The checkpoint will be one of two hosted this week in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The location of the CHP’s checkpoint will be announced just prior to the operation.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station/Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI checkpoint Thursday at locations within the city limits between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m.

Checkpoints are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving prevention and provide the greatest safety for officers and the public.

Motorists approaching the checkpoint will see informational signs advising them of a sobriety checkpoint ahead. Once diverted into the lane, motorists will be detained only momentarily while an officer explains the purpose of the checkpoint.

The goal of the D.U.I. Checkpoint is to create awareness among the motoring public, to deter people from driving under the influence, and to keep the streets safe for all, according to a CHP news release.

Although checkpoints tend to reduce the number of drinking drivers on the road, the C.H.P. will apprehend D.U.I. drivers who fail to heed our warnings. Even though arrest totals do not rise dramatically, the psychological influence a checkpoint has on the motoring public is invaluable.

Sobriety checkpoints are conducted in accordance to the guidelines for checkpoint operations outlined in the Supreme Court decision, Ingersol vs. Palmer. Traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked. If traffic volume becomes too heavy, vehicles to be checked will be selected by a pre-set standard, such as every 5th or 10th vehicle, in order to assure objectivity.

Over the past three years, Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s has investigated 212 fatal and injury DUI collision; countywide – 730 individuals were killed in drunk-driving wrecks.

The crime of impaired driving is a serious one. In 2010 alone, 791 died in California DUI crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was at or above the legal limit. The age group with the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes was the 21-to-24 age group.

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.

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.

Those arrested for DUI will face jail time, loss of their driver licenses, or being sentenced to use ignition interlocks. Their insurance rates go up. Other financial hits include attorney fees, court costs, lost time at work, and the potential loss of job or job prospects.

For further information about the CHP checkpoint, feel free to contact California Highway Patrol Public Information Officer John Lutz at (661) 294-5540.