Crime & Safety

Sheriff's Department Cracking Down on Drunken Drivers

DUI checkpoints will be conducted in Lemon Grove and Imperial Beach.

Choose a designated driver, keep some cab fare tucked in your wallet, or call a friend—just don’t drink and drive. The holiday weekend is here, and the Sheriff’s Department will be out in force looking for drunken drivers Friday night.

Local law enforcement will kick off the Fourth of July weekend with an effort to keep streets safe by removing impaired and unlicensed drivers from the road. DUI sobriety and unlicensed driver checkpoints will be conducted starting at 7 p.m. in Lemon Grove and Imperial Beach, and go into the wee hours of Saturday morning.

Alcohol is a major factor in fatal crashes during the July 4th holiday, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2009, 410 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes nationwide over the holiday. Of that number, 40 percent involved a driver with a blood alcohol concentration of .08, the legal limit.

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According to the NHTSA, the rate of alcohol impairment among drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2009 was four times higher at night than during the day.

 

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