One of the biggest weapons law enforcement has against those who drink or use drugs and drive are checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols. Though DUI checkpoints can be an unwanted inconvenience among sober drivers, the practices help police recognize and arrest those who have failed to designated a sober driver. The Mission Viejo Patch reports on a week-long saturation patrol planned by local police.
Research indicates that when highly publicized and executed DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols occur, crashes involving impaired drivers are reduced by 20%.
In just the year 20914, alcohol-impaired collisions in California led to 1,155 deaths and a further 24,000 injuries.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is planning a saturation patrol and checkpoint this week to identify drivers who are driving while impaired. The patrols and checkpoints were deployed on April 10th in areas which had high frequencies of DUI.
Studies of fatal crashes have indicated that 30% of the drivers in these crashes have one or more drugs in their system. 14% of drivers tested positive for a substance that may impair driving. Only 7.3% tested positive for alcohol and a slightly higher percentage (7.4%) tested positive for marijuana.
For people taking certain medications, even a small amount of alcohol can intensify the effects.
For those who plan on going to parties or out on the town for a night of drinking, authorities recommend the DDVIP app. The app is for both Android and iPhone and connects designated drivers with establishments that offer free non-alcoholic beverages and sometimes free appetizers.
The app also has a tab that allows people to order a ride from companies like Curb, Lyft, and Uber. A ride from one of these companies comes a lot cheaper than a DUI-charge which can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
