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Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that the Irvine Police Department conducted a sobriety checkpoint during the evening hours on Friday, December 23^rd.  The checkpoint was located on Culver Drive at Farwell in the City of Irvine. Sobriety checkpoints are held by law enforcement to raise revenue and funding for police departments, even if they are typically not very effective at apprehending drunk drivers.  The following is a summary of the activity at the checkpoint:

Vehicles Stopped: 611

Sobriety Testing Conducted: 4

DUI Arrests:  3

Other Citations: 27

Although the DUI rate has been dropping independent of police activity, The California Office of Traffic Safety credits DUI checkpoints in 2010 as partly responsible for the reduction in DUI deaths.  According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, Nationwide deaths in crashes involving drunken drivers dropped 4.9 percent in 2010, taking 10,228 lives compared with 10,759 in 2009. But they dropped 14 percent in California, a sharp decrease that continues an overall trend over a decade due to other social and economic factors.

Related articles

• Orange County DUI Checkpoint Locations: Costa Mesa (ocduiblog.com)
• Orange County DUI Checkpoint Locations: Newport Beach (ocduiblog.com)
• Orange County DUI Checkpoint locations: San Juan Capistrano (ocduiblog.com)

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers received the following as a portion of a press release from the Costa Mesa Police Department:

At the beginning of the 2011 Federal Fiscal Year, Costa Mesa Police Department was awarded a $364,000 Selective Traffic Enforcement Program grant, aimed at reducing the number of persons killed and injured in crashes involving alcohol, drugs, distractions, speed and red light violations. The current grant ends at the end of this month and preliminary results are promising. The Traffic Safety Bureau conducted 20 DUI/Drivers license checkpoints with 24,927 vehicles going through the checkpoints and 13,168 drivers being screened.

The press release goes on to talk about the drop in the number of speed related and red light collisions (perhaps related to Costa Mesa’s decision to take down the red light camera system in the city), but neglects to point out the low arrest rate for DUI cases from checkpoints in the city (sometimes as low as 0-1%), or the substantial fees raised from vehicle impounds not related to DUI.

If you have questions for a DUI specialist Orange County, call me, anytime, at (877) 568-2977.

Related articles

• Orange County DUI Checkpoint Locations: Costa Mesa (ocduiblog.com)
• Man Commits Suicide in Front of Costa Mesa Police Officer (laist.com)
• No more free Costa Mesa PD fix-it tickets for non-residents (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Costa Mesa police officer delivers baby (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
• Gang member threatened to stab boy, police say (latimesblogs.latimes.com)

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Our Orange County DUI lawyers have been told that on Wednesday, August 31, 2011, the Costa Mesa Police Department conducted a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint as part of the Traffic Safety Bureau’s commitment to public safety.

The checkpoint was conducted on 19th Street at Pomona Avenue.  This checkpoint was one of many conducted throughout the year along with DUI saturation patrols aimed at removing impaired drivers from our streets and to bring awareness to the public of the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs and or alcohol.  By publishing these educational and enforcement efforts, the Costa Mesa Police Department believes motorists are deterred from drinking and driving.
719 Vehicles went through the checkpoint
672 Drivers were screened
2 Drivers were given Field Sobriety Tests
1 Driver was arrested for DUI
45  Drivers license investigations
22 Citations issued
14 Vehicles towed

Related articles

• Orange County DUI Checkpoints: Costa Mesa after report (ocduiblog.com)
• Orange County DUI Checkpoint Locations: Mission Viejo tomorrow (ocduiblog.com)
• OC DUI Checkpoints: Costa Mesa (ocduiblog.com)

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Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that Orange County agencies are approved to be soon receiving $3.5 million for driving-under-the-influence enforcement and other traffic-safety programs, the state’s Office of Traffic Safety announced Wednesday.

Grants include: $100,000 for Irvine’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Education Program; $150,000 will go to Garden Grove for a DUI enforcement and awareness program; and $331,380 will go to Santa Ana for a traffic-enforcement program.

If you have questions for our Orange County DUI Lawyers, call anytime at (877) 568-2977

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Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that, although no DUI-related traffic fatalities were reported in Orange County over the July 4 holiday weekend, the number of arrests at sobriety checkpoints was nearly double that of last year, authorities reported.

The Avoid the 38 DUI task force concluded its weekend with the completion of three sobriety checkpoints along with multiple DUI saturation patrols. From midnight Friday, July 1, through midnight Monday, July 4, officers representing 38 county law enforcement agencies arrested 211 people for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

In 2010, there were only 108 DUI arrests during the four-day holiday weekend.

Deputy Wayne Howard of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department attributes the increase in arrests to an increase in grants given to law enforcement to apprehend drunk drivers.

More agencies are applying for the grants from the state Office of Traffic Safety, Howard said, and the money frees up officers to spend time on saturation patrols.

“Enforcement is getting more aggressive,” Howard said. “It’s just by the grace of God that we didn’t have fatalities this year. Experts estimate we catch only 1 to 2 percent of the drunk drivers out there. That means 20,000 people were driving drunk in Orange County just over the four-day weekend. That’s what truly scares me.

“We will continue to show zero tolerance, and anyone caught driving with a (blood alcohol content) of .08 or higher will be arrested,” Howard said.

Law enforcement officials will be conducting more Avoid Anti-DUI efforts throughout the county and region in partnership with the nationwide 18-day campaign in August ending Labor Day weekend.

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The Costa Mesa Police Department has notified our Orange County DUI Lawyers that they will no longer announce the locations of DUI checkpoints in Orange County in their city.

“The checkpoints are to educate the public about the dangers of DUI and deter it,” Sergeant Makiyama of the Costa Mesa Police Department said. “Should a DUI come through the checkpoint, obviously we want to remove them from the road.”

A 1993 California Supreme Court decision, People v. Banks, ruled that the police were not required to provide advance notice when scheduling DUI sobriety checkpoints as a prerequisite for a sobriety checkpoint. The court ruled that publicly announcing the location is not constitutionally required, but is one of several safeguards for “the maintenance of a constitutionally permissible sobriety checkpoint.”

“Hopefully, those that do learn of our checkpoints will question if they will be drinking and driving in the vicinity of a checkpoint and make good decisions about their rides,” Makiyama said. “In a perfect world we would not have a DUI problem, and checkpoints and saturation patrols would be a waste of time. Until then we will continue trying to keep the streets safe.”

Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer is critical of the traffic delays and points out that most DUI arrests occur later at night. Righeimer said the 6 p.m. to midnight timing was chosen for the end of a shift to give police officers extra overtime pay, which is paid by the federal government.

A KOCI News count from police press releases earlier this year for a previous report on DUI checkpoints showed a DUI arrest rate of about one-fifth of 1% of traffic stopped at the DUI checkpoints.

“They’ve backed off their previous claims and now just say it’s for education,” Righeimer said.

The funding for the Costa Mesa checkpoints is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, which in turn received the money from the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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The Costa Mesa Police Department conducted a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint on Monday, June 13, 2011, on Baker, between Bristol and Bear streets.  By asking the press, including our Orange County DUI Lawyers, to publicize these educational and enforcement efforts, the Costa Mesa Police Department believes motorists are deterred from drinking and driving.
DUI checkpoints are not nearly as effective as roving patrols, and this DUI checkpoint proves it. Despite almost 1,500 motorists inconvenienced, the only DUI arrest made at the checkpoint involved a 26-year old Costa Mesa resident on DUI
probation stemming from a previous DUI arrest less than a year ago, making this his third DUI during his short driving experience.  One driver was arrested for an outstanding DUI warrant and another driver was arrested for possession of a switch blade knife and brass knuckles.    The total stats are:
1467 Vehicles through the checkpoint
858  Vehicles screened
3 Drivers given field sobriety tests
1  DUI suspects arrested
1 DUI warrant served 1 Deadly weapons arrest
30  Driver’s license investigations
27  Citations issued
13 Vehicles towed

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned of yet another Orange County DUI Checkpoint, this time two of them, in Costa Mesa.  Costa Mesa Police will be conducting DUI/Drivers License checkpoints on Saturday, May 21 st  and Wednesday May 25 th , 2011 between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., at a yet undisclosed location (usually they are on Newport Boulevard Northbound, near Triangle Square (17th to 19th streets).  The Costa Mesa Police Department believes, despite evidence, that DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes.

Additional DUI saturation patrols have been scheduled for Monday, May 30th, and saturation patrols have proven to me much more effective in getting drunk drivers off the road.

Officers will be checking drivers through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and or drug impairments.  Officers will check for proper licensing and make most of the money for the police department off of lengthy impounds for unlicensed drivers, not persons driving under the influence.

Statewide, overall traffic deaths declined by 23 percent, from 3,995 in 2007 to 3,081 in 2009.  Total traffic fatalities are at their lowest levels in six decades, when the federal government began compiling figures.  DUI deaths declined by 16 percent, from 1,132 in 2007 to 950 in 2009, according to federal statistics.
DUICheckpoints mean Money for police departments, usually for officer overtime, and funding for this and other DUI checkpoints is provided to Costa Mesa Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and with funds, contributions, and volunteer services from MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving).

If you have questions for our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers, call anytime at (949) 682-5316.

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that the Costa Mesa Police Department Traffic Safety Bureau will be conducting DUI/Drivers License checkpoints on Wednesday, April 27 and Thursday, April 28th, 2011 between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. in the 2300 block of Placentia Avenue and on Sunflower Avenue at Anton Boulevard.  DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, as well as being a valuable means for heightening awareness of the dangers of impaired driving.

The checkpoint locations were selected because two lives were lost to DUI collisions at these locations over the past three years.  Since January 2008, DUI collisions in Costa Mesa have killed two people and injured 260 more.   Statewide, overall traffic deaths from DUI declined dramatically by 23 percent, from 3,995 in 2007 to 3,081 in 2009.  Total traffic fatalities are at their lowest levels in six decades, when the federal government began compiling figures.  
Officers will be checking drivers through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and or drug impairments.  Officers will check for proper licensing and will strive to impact motorists only momentarily. If officers suspect that a driver has been drinking or is impaired, they will conduct a field sobriety test.  If you fail, expect jail, vehicle storage fees, license suspension, insurance rate increases, along with fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

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Our Orange County DUI Lawyers have learned that the Costa Mesa Police Department, in conjunction with the California Highway Patrol conducted a  DUI/Drivers  License  Checkpoint  on  Saturday,  April  9,  2011, and resulted in a 0.0028% success rate.

This checkpoint was one of many that have been or will be conducted throughout the year in Costa Mesa.  The location of Saturday’s checkpoint was on Newport Boulevard at 17 th  Street.

2,127  Vehicles through the checkpoint
611     Vehicles Screened
9         Drivers given field sobriety tests
6         DUI suspects arrested
12       Driver’s license investigations
13       Citations issued
11       Vehicles towed

The checkpoint was funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  If you have any questions for an Orange County DUI Specialist, contact our firm at (877) 568-2977.