DUI Checkpoint Nets 7 Arrests

La Quinta, Calif. – La Quinta Police Department screened 1311 vehicles and yielded one DUI arrest while conducting a DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint on February 8, 2019. The checkpoint was at Washington St., south of Avenue 47, between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.

In addition, eight drivers were cited/arrested for operating a vehicle unlicensed or with a suspended/revoked license, two arrested on other criminal charges, twenty citations issued, and four vehicles were towed.

DUI Checkpoints are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests. Last year La Quinta Police Department investigated 28 DUI collisions that killed 1 person and injured 12 others.

Drivers caught driving impaired and charged with DUI can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to be approximately $13,500. This includes fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspension and other expenses not to mention possible jail time.

La Quinta Police Department reminds drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.” Prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, can impair and result in a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs.

La Quinta Police Department will be conducting another DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoint and DUI Saturation Patrol in the near future in our ongoing commitment to take suspected impaired drivers off our streets and highways, ultimately lowering the risk for deaths and injuries.

Funding for this checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Source: http://www.riversidesheriff.org/press/the19-0208.asp