(Newswire.net — August 11, 2015) — As summer fun is at its peak, so is drunk driving. The Los Angeles Police Department and other agencies are teaming up to make sure your fun in the summer sun is as safe as possible. The authorities are out in full force arresting drunk drivers.
As the past holiday weekends proved, many people are enjoying one too many summer cocktails. So, to hinder people from drinking and getting behind the wheel, police are spreading the word that they are out and about.
“The LAPD is giving specific warnings about what to expect,” explains Los Angeles DUI Lawyer, Daniel Perlman. “They believe that if drivers know that the authorities are putting more emphasis on DUI enforcement, it will reduce drunk driving cases and save innocent lives.”
Los Angeles Police announced their plan for DUI checkpoints throughout the city. The department shared the exact times and locations of these summer holiday checkpoints in hopes that people would decide to err on the side on caution. LA Weekly published a schedule of checkpoints:
- 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. a checkpoint will be awaiting your arrival at Florence Avenue and Main Street in South Los Angeles.
- 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department will be hosting a checkpoint on the mean streets of Malibu. Sheriff’s officials are not telling us exactly where it will be.
- 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. sheriff’s deputies will be operating a checkpoint an an undisclosed location in the lush oasis that is Lancaster.
- 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. the sheriff’s department will have a checkpoint running at an undisclosed location in West Hollywood.
- 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. an LAPD checkpoint will be expecting you at Lankershim Boulevard at Vanowen Street in fragrant North Hollywood.
- 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. a checkpoint will be up and running at Reseda Boulevard at Parthenia Street in Reseda.
With citizens knowing this information, police say there should be no excuse.
“They will have no mercy,” continues Los Angeles DUI Lawyer, Daniel Perlman. “They are actively hunting down drunk drivers. You have been warned.”
Some argue that sobriety checkpoints are the wrong way to crack down on drunk drivers. These checkpoints stop hundreds of cars, but may only make a few arrests. Opponents of checkpoints say amped up patrol is the key for local law enforcement. Patrols can also catch other dangerous types of drivers, such as speeding or reckless driving. Also, patrols are less expensive for the taxpayer. A $300 patrol is a bargain compared to $8,000 to $10,000 for a single checkpoint.
That argument doesn’t phase the LAPD. Just on the fourth of July weekend alone, one checkpoint resulted in 14 drivers arrested for DUI out of the 1,000 vehicles that were stopped. Authorities who manned the checkpoint, located at Florence Avenue and Broadway, say they saw a record number of arrests.
Whatever the means of DUI enforcement, the Los Angeles Police Department knows it is something that must be done. The proof is in the numbers. The last fourth of July weekend alone, two people were killed in drunk driving accidents. More than 200 people were arrested for drunk driving. The authorities were pleased with these numbers compared to last year. In 2014, 32 people were killed statewide during the Independence day weekend.
The department says the maximum deployment of officers led to prompt responses to any traffic delay.
The LAPD will continue this high enforcement for the rest of the summer as they work to lower the number of highway fatalities due to drunk driving and other dangerous types of driving.