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Somewhere in Menlo Park tonight (Friday, July 24), police officers will be stopping vehicles, checking driver’s licenses and looking at drivers for signs of intoxication, whether from alcohol or drugs.

Police are not saying where the checkpoint will be, but said in a press release that it will be operational between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. In choosing a location, safety for the officers involved and the public are key concerns, police said.

Delays at the checkpoint will be momentary for drivers who are licensed and unimpaired. But those caught driving while impaired can expect to be arrested, spend time in jail, pay up to $10,000 in costs and penalties, and take DUI classes.

In 2012, DUI-related accidents killed 802 people on the road in California, while in San Mateo County over the past three years, such accidents have killed 46 people and injured 374, police said.

Research shows that DUI checkpoints lower the incidence of alcohol or drug-related accidents by as much as 20 percent, police said.

To report a drunken driver, call 911.

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3 Comments

  1. There ought to be more notice of these checkpoints. I’m used to seeing the in the paper a few days in advance. It’s not that I want to drive drunk and worry about getting arrested. I just want to avoid the hassle of being delayed by cops stopping me and smelling my breath.

    I think these checkpoints are funded by a federal or state grant, yet I’ve never seen these grants on a council agenda where the public could speak about them. With DUIs declining nationally, I worry that are cops are doing these checkpoints just to pick up a few hours of federally financed overtime, maybe spiking the pensions of cops who will be retiring soon. I’d like council to examine why we’re doing this.

    Don’t get me wrong. I’m not in favor of drunken driving. But I fear this is just a cash grab by our police department.

  2. Drunk drivers kill more Americans every year than all terrorists and wars put together. Getting drunk drivers off the street is not a “cash grab”. We need stiffer penalties and stiffer sentences for DUI (as well as cell phone driving).

  3. Parent; checkpoints don’t get drinks off streets.

    They are primarily gettting expired reg’s and tickets – cash generating events.

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