Orange County DUI Checkpoint arrests for Labor Day weekend, 2010

Well, the Labor Day weekend has passed, and the “all out” efforts to crack down on DUI for this past weekend (including the AVOID the 38 special project, which ended a special enforcement period September 6th).  So how did law enforcement do? Our Newport Beach DUI lawyers decided to find out.

The California Highway Patrol reports that they arrested 56 people in Orange County on suspicion of drunken driving over the Labor Day holiday weekend, compared to 73 last year, a drop of 23%, and no one was killed in traffic collisions on Orange County freeways, said CHP officer Denisse Quesada.

Local law enforcement began their maximum enforcement period Friday at 6 p.m. and continued until close to midnight Sept. 6.

During the labor day weekend, CHP and other law enforcement in Orange County often increase patrols and stage sobriety checkpoints.

Other counties do the same, in part to take advantage of federal funding, impound fees, and MADD funding and volunteers.  In San Diego County, Chula Vista police screened about 500 drivers at drunken driving checkpoint that wrapped up early Monday, but no arrests were made.  When DUI arrests are made, police always say that they are providing a valuable service in keeping streets safe, so…  does that mean that the police and checkpoints are now no longer needed?

Nope.  “That means the message is really coming across,” Officer Alicia Chudy said.

The checkpoint in the 200 block of East Orange Avenue resulted in eight citations for driving without a license and six citations for driving with a suspended license, Chudy said.  Fifteen other citations were issued, and 13 vehicles were impounded, she said.

On Thursday and Friday, the Chula Vista police stopped 89 vehicles during a saturation patrol, arresting two drivers on suspicion of drunken driving and impounding 16 vehicles, Chudy said.  Each of those can result in a 30 day or longer impound, which, at the daily rate, is significant income for law enforcement, according to a study from UC Berkeley.

Just like in Orange County, California Highway Patrol said Monday it had no reports of traffic fatalities in San Diego County during the Labor Day holiday weekend.

In San Diego County, the CHP arrested 72 motorists across the county on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs since 6:01 p.m. Friday.

Last year, there was one reported traffic fatality and 82 motorists were arrested for drunken driving during the same time period, meaning that the overall drop in DUI arrests continues.   If you have any questions for our Orange County DUI Lawyers, call us, anytime, toll free at (714) 568-1560.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 2:08 pm and is filed under DUI advice, Dui Checkpoints, DUI News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.