LANCASTER – The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting a DUI checkpoint at an undisclosed location in Lancaster this Friday, May 14, between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m., authorities announced.
The checkpoint’s location will be chosen based on a history of DUI crashes and arrests. The primary purpose of this checkpoint is not to make arrests but to promote public safety by deterring drivers from driving impaired.
During the checkpoint, deputies will look for signs that drivers are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
“The safety of our community is and always will be our mission,” Sergeant Robert Hill said. “We are looking for impaired drivers because driving under the influence is dangerous and puts others on the road at risk.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reminds the public that impaired driving is not just from alcohol. Some prescription medications or over-the-counter drugs may interfere with driving. Always follow directions for use and read warning labels about
driving or ”operating heavy machinery,” which includes driving a car. While medicinal and recreational marijuana are legal, driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal.
Drivers caught driving impaired and charged with DUI can expect to face fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspension and other expenses upwards of $13,500, not to mention possible jail time.
Funding for this operation is provided to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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tsparky says
“The primary purpose of this checkpoint is not to make arrests but to promote public safety by deterring drivers from driving impaired.”
No, the primary reason is to make arrests to remove impaired drivers to protect other drivers.
Tim Scott says
No, the primary reason is that it provides an excuse to pull people over and say “papers please,” which generates fines.
Cities used to run these “checkpoint earners” to get money, but they were deemed unconstitutional. The solution was found by scumbags similar to Wrecks, who push their pocketed congressional reps like Mike Garcia to create grant money for “public safety” that pays for the exact same checkpoints. It basically transfers federal grant money into the general fund in the form of fines on the poorest citizens, while paying overtime to the cops which keeps the cop union happy with the mayor.
If there was any intentions about making arrests of actual drunk drivers the location would be somewhere drunk drivers would be. This will be located somewhere between neighborhoods where poor people live and the kind of places where poor people work.