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have learned that The Orange County Crime Laboratory (OCCL) has received a $350,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to purchase new instrumentation for increased identification and quantitation of prescription and abused drugs for cases when driving under the influence of Drugs (DUID) is  suspected. This technology will provide more comprehensive toxicological testing of DUID case  samples. Obtaining these additional equipment funds was done in cooperation with and through the  assistance of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

In recent studies, 23 percent of all fatally injured drivers tested positive for drug involvement. In another study where drivers voluntarily allowed for testing, more tested positive for marijuana (8.4 percent) than for alcohol (7.6 percent).

If you have any questions for our DUI Lawyers Newport Beach, call (877) 568-2977, anytime.

Our Orange County DUI attorneys found out that the Costa Mesas city attorney’s office is looking into a disagreement between Planning Commission Chairman Jim Righeimer and police over whether it was a good idea to stage a driving under the influence checkpoint on a busy street during rush hour Thursday, city officials said.

Righeimer passed through the checkpoint while driving southbound on Harbor Boulevard at Gisler Avenue without incident about 6:30 p.m. on his way to the Estancia High School football game. After he drove through it, he parked in the McDonald’s parking lot and walked over to police and asked them about the wisdom of slowing down traffic before the game and during the evening rush.

Officers said they felt Righeimer, who is running for City Council, tried to flex political muscle because he was inconvenienced by the traffic the checkpoint created.

“There’s an attitude,” Righeimer said Friday. “They’re not used to being asked questions. I’m just asking questions.”

Righeimer, a former Daily Pilot columnist, has been clashing with the police and fire unions in recent weeks over comments he has made about the need to reform expensive pension packages for public safety employees.

The checkpoint was conducted from 6 to 11 p.m. In a news release issued days before the checkpoint, police said the location was selected because of DUI-related crashes and arrests in the area.

Righeimer said he asked to talk to the officer in charge of the checkpoint and demanded to know why they were doing it at such a busy intersection during rush hour. He said it took him nearly half an hour to get from Susan Street, a small street east of Harbor, through the checkpoint.

Four police officers, each of whom asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak with the media, claimed Righeimer demanded, as a public official, that officers shut down the checkpoint. They said he threatened to call Police Chief Chris Shawkey.

Righeimer acknowledged that he said he would call the chief, but only for answers. He said he never demanded that they shut down the checkpoint.

“They don’t like anyone coming up to them and asking questions,” Righeimer said. “I think most of the public expects to see DUI checkpoints later in the evening in areas that have bars and restaurants, not at the exit of freeways. I think they ended up with 3,400 cars and two people arrested. It kind of tells you right there.”

Statistics released Friday show 3,214 cars passed through the checkpoint, with officers screening about 500 of them and arresting two on suspicion of driving drunk. Police also cited 17 people and impounded 12 vehicles.

City Manager Allan Roeder explained that planning commissioners report to the City Council and do not have authority over police.

Roeder did not elaborate on the nature of the city attorney’s investigation, though he did confirm one is taking palce.

He said he was aware of the incident and the city is gathering all documents, field observations, including audio recordings and any other related information to hand over to the city attorney’s office.

The checkpoint was funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety. Saturation patrols, which are much more effective at finding and catching drunk drivers, (a saturation patrol is where more officers are on the streets looking for impaired drivers), are not only cheaper for the force, but are less inconvenient to the public.  However, saturation patrols, unlike DUI checkpoints, don’t get federal funding, MADD volunteers and funds, and are less political than DUI checkpoints.

The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department Chino Hills Station will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, September 3rd, 2010 and Friday, September 10th, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.,in Chino Hills. In an effort to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, DUI checkpoints are conducted to identify offenders and get them off the street, as well as educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving.

All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. This DUI/Drivers License checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as insuring drivers have a valid driver’s license. A major component of these checkpoints is to increase awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and to encourage sober designated drivers.

A DUI checkpoint is a proven effective method for achieving this goal. By publicizing these enforcement and education efforts, The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department believes motorists can be deterred from drinking and driving.

Traffic volume and weather permitting, all vehicles may be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs will be arrested. Our objective is to send a clear message to those who are considering driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and/or drugs – Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest. The public is encouraged to help keep roadways safe by calling 911 if they see a suspected impaired driver.

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

Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that there are DUI Checkpoints Planned in Redondo Beach

Redondo Beach, CA – Officers from the Redondo Beach Police Department announced its officers will be conducting DUI/Drivers License Checkpoints partnering with thousands of other law enforcement, which began August 21st throughout the county.

Funding for the Checkpoint is through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and DUI arrests can be a significant source of revenue and funding for local law enforcement.

“Statewide, DUI deaths fell 9 percent to 1,029 in 2009. Credit for the drop in DUI deaths goes to law enforcement, state and local agencies, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other safety advocates,” said Christopher Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety.

“In addition, the people of California have come together to address this deadly problem and are now seeing results.

As positive as these figures are, though, we can never let up until we achieve our goal of zero deaths.”

“Drunk driving is simply not worth the risk.

Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant,” said Police Chief Joe Leonardi.

“Violators will face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance rates, attorney fees, time away from work, and dozens of other expenses.

So don’t take the chance. Remember, if you are caught over the limit, you will be placed under arrest.”

“Law enforcement everywhere is asking for the community’s help; if you see a Drunk Driver – Call 911,” said Chief Leonardi.

“In addition to this checkpoint I’ve asked everyone in my department to focus additional efforts toward removing an impaired driver during the campaign period and everyday they are on patrol.”

For more information, visit www.StopImpairedDriving.org and www.californiaavoid.org. Media Notes: To schedule an interview regarding Anti Drunk-Driving efforts, or request a ride-along with law enforcement during the holiday period, please contact Scot Martin at (310) 318-0621.

Traffic Supervisor 401 Diamond Street, P.O. Box 639 Tel #310 379-2477 ext 2721
Sgt. Paul Burch Redondo Beach, California 90277-0639 Fax #310 937-6628
www.redondo.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 08-26-10
CONTACT: Scot Martin, (310) 318-0621

Our Orange County DUI Lawyers learned today that the Costa Mesa Police Department announced they will be holding a DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint on Tuesday June 8, 2010 from 6:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M., on 17 th  Street at Raymond Avenue.

“No matter what you drive—a passenger car, pickup, sport utility vehicle or motorcycle—if we catch you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions. No excuses,” said Sergeant Dave Makiyama.  “We will be talking to drivers, making sure they are not impaired, arresting those who are, and getting the word out that impaired driving and driving without a proper license is not acceptable in Costa Mesa.

Financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can be significant. Costs for a DUI can exceed $10,000, plus violators face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance rates, and dozens of other unanticipated expenses.

Funding for this checkpoint comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.

Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have discovered some interesting facts about the recent Costa Mesa police DUI checkpoint.  Despite more than 1,000 persons passing through the checkpoint, the Costa Mesa Police Department only arrested one person at a DUI checkpoint Friday night on Bristol Street.

Police stopped 503 of the more than 1,000 vehicles that passed through the stop. Officers investigated 46 people for possible DUI but arrested none on suspicion of driving drunk, officials said.

Four vehicles were towed, 15 were impounded and 35 people were given tickets.

Funding for the checkpoint was provided by the California Office of Traffic Safety.

From the OC Register:

COSTA MESA – Police issued 35 citations, impounded 15 cars and made one arrest during a police sobriety checkpoint Friday on Bristol Street north of Bear Street.

There were no drunken driving arrests made. The checkpoints are conducted to remove impaired drivers off the road and bring awareness to the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs/alcohol and driving without a license.

Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have been notified of a DUI checkpoint and DUI roving patrols in The OC for May 5th.  Cinco de Mayo has become a traditional time for many to celebrate California’s rich cultural history.  It is also a night police having roving patrols looking out for persons alleged to have been driving under the influence.

The Avoid the 38 will be deploying Roving DUI patrols into the communities of Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Newport Beach, Placentia, Santa Ana, the UCI Campus and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s south contract cities.  In addition, Fullerton is holding a DUI checkpoint, as previously reported.

DUI-related arrests and accidents have dropped in California thanks to the recession.

“Communities everywhere will see special events and night spots celebrating Cinco de Mayo,” said Sgt. Mark Daigle of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Bureau.  “If you do go out and celebrate, make sure you have a non-drinking designated driver to get you home safe.”

Officers will be stopping errant drivers and checking for the signs of intoxication, conducting field sobriety tests, arresting those who are intoxicated and impounding vehicles of those with suspended or no license.

“Drunk driving is simply not worth the risk,  said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety.  “Violators often face jail time, the loss of their driver’s license, higher insurance rates, attorney fees, time away from work, and dozens of other expenses. So don’t take the chance. Remember, if you are over the limit, you are under arrest.”

Avoid the 38 DUI Task Force funding is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And, if you have any questions related to Orange County DUI, contact me, Robert Miller, at (714) 568-1560.

Fullerton, California: The Fullerton Police Department will conduct a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint Wednesday, May 5, as part of its ongoing efforts to educate motorists on the dangers of drinking and driving.

The checkpoint will be held from 6 p.m.-midnight in the 200 block of E. Commonwealth Avenue.

Motorists passing through the checkpoint will receive safe driving literature from Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), Community Services Programs Inc. and the state Office of Traffic Safety.

If you have questions about the Fullerton DUI checkpoint, or any other Orange County DUI Checkpoint locations, feel free to contact Newport Beach DUI Lawyer Robert Miller, at (949) 682-5316, anytime.

Kim said DUI checkpoints are a “proven and effective method for achieving the department’s goal of increasing awareness as to the dangers of driving while impaired by either alcohol or drugs.

“By publicizing these enforcement and education efforts, the Police Department believes motorists can be deterred from drinking and driving.  Our objective is to send a clear message to those who are considering driving after consuming alcohol and/or drugs, and that message is ‘Drunk Driving:  Over the limit, under arrest.’”

Kim added the public can do its part to keep roadways safe by reporting drivers they suspect to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

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

Further information about the checkpoint may be obtained by contacting the Fullerton Police Traffic Bureau at (714) 738-5313.

A series of sobriety checkpoints and patrols will be held in Orange County cities this weekend, our Orange County DUI Lawyers have been informed.

In Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente, Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies will be conducting DUI roving patrols on Friday.

The DUI teams will target areas that have a high incidence of DUI-related arrests and collisions.

In Costa Mesa, the police department will be conducting a DUI and driver’s license checkpoint on Friday from 6 to 11 p.m. The checkpoint will take place on Bristol Street between Bear Street and Randolph Avenue.

All vehicles may be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs will be arrested, according to a Costa Mesa Police Department news release.

On Saturday, the Cypress Police Department will conduct a DUI and driver’s license checkpoint from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Lincoln, west of Valley View.

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

Monday, April 12, 2010 | As Orange County DUI Lawyers, we get asked all the time about how effective DUI checkpoints are.  The answer is: Not Very.  For all of the effort expended by police departments on DUI checkpoints, they’re not the best way to catch drunks behind the wheel.

In 2008, just more than 5,000 drunk drivers were nabbed at 1,740 checkpoints statewide. That number represents about 2.3 percent of all California drunk driving arrests in 2008, according to statistics compiled by the state’s Office of Traffic Safety.

Meanwhile, nearly 215,000 DUI arrests were made by regular police and California Highway Patrol officers on their daily patrols, the Department of Motor Vehicles reported.

But despite these statistics, the checkpoints are here to stay. While they may not be good at catching drunk drivers, they have proven quite effective in capturing something else very important to local police agencies: federal dollars.

Roughly $14 million in federal grant money was spent statewide in 2008 on checkpoints. Orange County law enforcement agencies will receive at least $2.5 million in federal grants this fiscal year for checkpoints.

Grants cover virtually all costs for the checkpoints including overtime for officers so inspections don’t interfere with regular police work.

“If you see a check point, the chances are extremely good that that’s grant funded,” said Chris Cochran, spokesman for the California Office of Traffic Safety which administers federal safe driving grants.

Federal grants for checkpoints jumped nationally in fiscal 2006 from $40 million the previous year to $120 million. For fiscal 2009, grant funding was $139 million, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Both Cochran and Mothers Against Drunk Driving Orange County Interim Director Mary Beth Griffith say there is clear evidence that checkpoints are a deterrent.

They point to the fact that drunk driving fatalities have decreased in recent years and say the drop is at least partly attributable to checkpoints being an effective way to educate the public about drunk driving.

Cochran cited the Office of Traffic Safety’s 2009 performance report which said alcohol-related deaths from driving accidents dropped 9.1 percent from 2007 to 2008 and, since 2005, fatalities have gone down “a staggering 20.1 percent.”

And MADD’s Griffith noted a U.S. Transportation Department report in March that said preliminary statistics show national traffic fatalities in 2009 were at their lowest level since 1954. And the rate has been steadily going down for more than three years.

Griffith said she would “like to believe it’s because more people are being arrested before they could cause a crash.”

However, when the government released the 2009 fatality numbers last month, one of the nations top auto safety watchdogs attributed the drop in fatalities primarily to the Great Recession.

“It’s a consistent pattern that the silver lining in any recession is a dip – and sometimes a significant dip – in highway deaths,” Russ Rader, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, told the Baltimore Sun.

The government report, according to the Sun’s reporting, shows a downward trend in fatalities that increased as the national economy went into recession and Americans began driving fewer miles. The number of deaths on the nation’s roads prior to 2008 routinely surpassed 40,000.

Nonetheless, Cochran insists that “checkpoints are the best deterrent for DUI (driving under the influence) fatalities.”

One reason for their success, he said, is that they reach both drinkers and non-drinkers, helping educate both groups about the dangers of drinking and driving and, hopefully, inspiring non-drinking family and friends to get behind the wheel when they’re with someone who has been drinking.

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Stop!” Shouts a voice from the dark as officers begin their inspection at a recent checkpoint in Fullerton.

The police check for a valid driver’s license and then chat with (and sniff) drivers to see if they seem impaired by alcohol or drugs. Officers also give each driver they stop anti-drinking and driving literature from MADD.

But a recent investigation by the investigative news website California Watch revealed that police agencies do more than just sniff for booze and hand out pamphlets at checkpoints.

They also impounded the cars of unlicensed drivers whether they’ve been drinking or not. And the agencies make big money doing it, according to California Watch’s reporting. The website also found that minority motorists — and often illegal immigrants — were often the most likely to have their cars impounded.

Even with such revelations, Cochran said federal dollars for the checkpoints will keep coming. “It’s a trend more than a spike,” he said.