Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint Friday in Murrieta

A sobriety/driver's license checkpoint is planned Friday in Murrieta.

The Murrieta Police Department Traffic Unit will conduct the checkpoint from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday, Aug. 24 on Margarita Road north of Torrey Pines Road, according to a news release.

"DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes. Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough," said Murrieta police Sgt. James Gruwell.

Officers will be making contact with drivers as they pass through the checkpoint and looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment, Gruwell said. They will also check drivers for proper licensing and will strive to delay motorists only momentarily, he said.

"Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes and other expenses that can exceed $10,000," Gruwell said.

In 2010, more than 10,000 people were killed nationally in motor vehicle traffic crashes that involved at least one driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or higher, Gruwell said. In California, this deadly crime led to 791 deaths because someone failed to designate a sober driver, he said.

“Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed four lives and resulted in 43 injury crashes harming 71 of our friends and neighbors,” Gruwell said.

Checkpoints are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence and provide the most safety for officers and the public, Gruwell said.

Funding for the checkpoint was provided to the by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, targeting those who still don’t heed the message to designate a sober driver, Gruwell said.

According to NHTSA, checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while also yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent. 

“Deaths from drunk and drug-impaired driving are going down in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the California Office of Traffic Safety. "But that still means that hundreds of our friends, family and co-workers are killed each year, along with tens of thousands who are seriously injured. We must all continue to work together to bring an end to these tragedies.  If you see a Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1.”