A DUI and drivers license checkpoint will be conducted at “an undisclosed location” in Citrus Heights this weekend, police said in a news release on Monday.
The checkpoint will be held between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., beginning Friday night, July 22. Police said officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and drug impairment, as well as checking drivers for proper licensing.
Officers will also be on scene to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which can include many prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications, according to the news release.
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CHPD regularly holds publicized checkpoints within Citrus Heights city limits, focusing on areas with a history of collisions and DUI arrests. A prior checkpoint held in May on Auburn Boulevard resulted in two DUI arrests, two vehicle impounds, and 19 citations for various other violations, according to police.
In 2015, Citrus Heights had 73 DUI-related collisions and 340 DUI arrests, according to statistics provided to The Sentinel by police. Out of six fatal roadway collisions in the city last year, police determined alcohol was involved on the part of the driver in at least three of the collisions, and two involved alcohol on the part of pedestrians who were hit and killed.
The department says it announces DUI operations in advance as a public awareness tool to help deter drivers from getting behind the wheel drunk in the first place. California’s State Supreme Court has also ruled that advance publicity is a key component of maintaining “a constitutionally permissible sobriety checkpoint.”
Funding for CHPD’s checkpoints comes from a California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) grant, through the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration. Police said last November CHPD had received a $236,190 OTS grant to help fund a year-long program of safety-related efforts, including DUI checkpoints and distracted driving enforcement.
