Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

The Costa Mesa Police Department, in addition to the Santa Ana Police Department, are conducting a DUI checkpoint at Newport Boulevard and Flower Street from 8 tonight to 2 a.m. Saturday.  Costa Mesa is also among the agencies participating in “Avoid the 38″ saturation patrols, where officers swarm stretches of road frequented by boozy drivers.

Running tonight through Sunday, roving saturation patrols will also be held in Irvine, Cypress, Garden Grove and La Palma, as well as South County cities that contract the Sheriff’s Department for police services.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

I received a tip from someone at the Orange County Register that the Santa Ana Police Department will be conducting a DUI checkpoint tonight, Friday, in the 1600 Block of North Tustin Avenue, in Santa Ana near Orange (near where the Fling and other dive bars are located.

If you have questions for Orange County DUI Lawyers, contact our firm anytime.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that “Drunk Drivers Can’t Hide Behind Halloween Costumes” is the new slogan of this year’s Halloween DUI Saturation Patrols in Orange County.  This, in addition to the Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint this weekend, gives cause to be careful when driving.  A portion of the Sheriff’s Department press release appears below:

“As party-going ghosts and goblins celebrate Halloween this October, the “Avoid the 38” Orange County DUI Task Force reminds everyone to keep the party off the road.

Roving DUI Saturation Patrols are planned this weekend in the cities of Costa Mesa, Cypress, Garden Grove,  Irvine and La Palma as well as the Sheriff’s South Contract Cities as part of the Task Force’s ongoing efforts to lower impaired driving.  The DUI Patrols will be working Friday, October 29 through Sunday, October 31.

Nighttime is an especially dangerous time to be on the road, but Halloween weekend is often one of the deadliest times of the year for impaired drivers. According to the CHP’s Statewide Integrated Traffic
Reporting System, 16 individuals died and 417 were injured on Halloween in Alcohol Involved Collisions during the past five years, although the general drinking and driving trend is dropping dramatically.

“The scariest part of Halloween isn’t the spooky costumes and scary pranks,” said Sheriff Sandra Hutchens.  “It’s the fact that too often impaired drivers don’t plan ahead and end up making the roads scarier than a
horror show.”
The “Avoid the 38” Task Force recommends these simple tips for a safe Halloween

    Plan a safe way home before the festivities begin

    Before drinking,  designate a sober driver

    If you’re impaired, use a taxi, call a sober friend or family member, or use public transportation

    If you happen to see a drunk driver on the road, don’t hesitate to call 911

    And remember, Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk.  If you know someone who is about to drive or ride while impaired, take their keys and help them make other arrangements to get to where they are going safely

Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For information from our Orange County DUI Attorneys, call our office at (714) 568-1560.  For information on “Avoid the 38”, please visit www.californiaavoid.org.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

The Halloween weekend is upon us, and our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that local law enforcement in Orange County have a few enforcement plans for detecting and arresting people suspected of drunk driving.

The coordinated efforts of “Avoid the 38″ are using resources from law enforcement to conduct patrols to find persons alleged to be DUI this weekend, and they list Halloween as one of their DUI enforcement periods.

A checkpoint in Costa Mesa has also been announced (see the separate entry on this blog on that Orange County DUI checkpoint), and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has announced a series of saturation patrols for the Halloween weekend, to apprehend persons supected of driving under the influence.

If you have questions for our Newport Beach DUI Attorneys, call us anytime at (949) 682-5316.  We are here to help.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers had previously reported this, bu the Newport Beach Police Department last week announced via press release that they have been awarded a new traffic safety grant for a year-long anti-DUI program with funding for detection and arrest.  New enforcement measures are coming as a result of a recent $222,355.00 grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety to Newport Beach. The Newport Beach Police Department receives most of that funding for officer salaries, mainly overtime.

The special DUI Enforcement and Awareness grant will specifically target impaired driving offenders as well as educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving. This will be done through the use of DUI/driver’s license checkpoints, warrant searches and stakeouts for repeat DUI offenders, saturation patrols, and court stings targeting DUI offenders with suspended or revoked driver licenses who get behind the wheel after leaving court.

Drunk driving is one of America’s deadliest crimes. In 2009, over 10,839 people died in highway crashes involving a driver or motorcycle operator with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher. If you have questions for the best DUI attorney in Newport Beach, call me at (949) 628-5316.

Funding for the grant comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that the Huntington Beach Police Department has been awarded a new traffic safety grant for a year-long anti-DUI program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on roadways. Additional enforcement measures in place to combat impaired driving are coming as a result of a recent $156,021 grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety to Huntington Beach. If you have questions for our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers, call me at (714) 568-1560, anytime.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that the Huntington Beach Police Department has been awarded a new traffic safety grant for a year-long anti-DUI program aimed at increasing Orange County DUI arrestsadways. Additional enforcement measures are coming as a result of a recent $156,021 grant awarded by the California Office of Traffic Safety to Huntington Beach.

DUI checkpoints are big business, and grants from the Federal and State government are just part of the story.  DUI Checkpoints are not nearly as effective as saturation patrols, but they continue because that’s where the money is at. As I blogged about yesterday, the Costa Mesa Police Department received a grant for officer salaries and overtime for DUI checkpoints, that was $335,000 of the total $360,000 grant.  And, as UC Berkeley has found, impound fees from unlicensed drivers can mean tens of thousands in income to a police department.

If you have questions for a DUI Specialist Orange County, call me, anytime, at (714) 568-1560.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that a Friday court hearing for a major league pitcher and husband of one of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” has been postponed for Oct. 14, when a judge will decide whether he will be put on probation or sent back to prison for his second DUI conviction.

Matt Keough, who pitched for 10 years as a major league player, pleaded guilty in July to felony charges of driving under the influence of alcohol. Immediately after entering his guilty plea, a judge sent him to a 90-day diagnostic program where he was to be evaluated on whether he was eligible for probation.

A Superior Court Judge in Newport Beach court may decide to place the former pitcher on probation or sentence him for up to three years in state prison.

Keough, who is married to Jeana from Bravo show “The Real Housewives of Orange County, has had several brushes with the law on account of alcohol.

His troubles began in 2005 when he crashed into the back of a car stopped at an intersection, which then hit a pedestrian crossing the street. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail and three years of probation.

In 2008, Keough was sentenced to 180 days in jail for violating the terms of his probation. He admitted he had been drinking at a hotel.

Keough was again in trouble in Aug. 2009, when he ran a stop sign and a deputy tried to pull over the 55-year-old man. Keough continued driving for a short distance, despite the deputy’s efforts to pull him over.

The former pitcher reached his Coto de Caza home and was walking toward his home when the deputy stopped him. Keough refused to take a field sobriety test, but was found to have a blood-alcohol level of .30 percent.

Keough appeared in court in July to enter a guilty plea in the case, but a Superior Court Judge determined he was too intoxicated during the court hearing. Keough was ordered to return a few days later to enter the plea.  If you have any questions for a DUI Specialist Orange County, contact our firm anytime.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned from this article in the Daily Pilot  http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dpt-1013-grant-20101012,0,3179960.story, that Costa Mesa Police Department have a

Some nuggets:  “Through September of 2011, the money will fund police overtime for a dozen DUI checkpoints, 16 saturation patrols, additional police training, 11 special stings and increased traffic enforcement.  More than $325,000 of that pays for police overtime, with the rest divvied among training and new equipment, according to the agreement with the Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).

Drunk driving is a big issue in the city every year, with police here regularly making more DUI arrests than in any other Orange County city, and at the same time having among the most alcohol-related traffic collisions.

According to OTS statistics …, Costa Mesa had more alcohol-related crashes than any other city in the state with populations of 100,000 to 250,000. It also had the fifth-most DUI arrests, 710, in 2008.

DUI-related crashes in Costa Mesa have dropped 47% since 2005, police reported.”

Note that the biggest funding is for overtime for Police Officers.  No wonder the Police Union is so happy.  As a DUI Specialist Orange County, I can tell you that DUI Checkpoints are all about money.

Archive for October, 2010

Costa Mesa DUI Checkpoint announced

Friday, October 29th, 2010

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