The Long Beach Police Department Traffic Section conducted a DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint on Friday, Feb. 25 at 7th Street and Locust Avenue from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m which resulted in nine citations, two arrests and one vehicle impound.
LBPD said that DUI/Driver’s License checkpoints are set up in areas that have the highest chance of deterring impaired drivers.
“The safety of our community is and always will be our mission,” Sgt. Steve Smock said in a statement. “We are still out there looking for impaired drivers because driving under the influence is still dangerous.”
The California Office of Traffic Safety funded the checkpoint through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
LBPD said 602 vehicles passed through the checkpoint and 298 drivers were screened by police.
Two drivers were arrested for driving under the influence, three drivers were cited for operating a vehicle with a suspended/revoked license, six drivers were cited for being unlicensed, and one vehicle was impounded.
LBPD said it supports the initiative by the Office of Traffic Safety to educate all drivers that “DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.”
According to the 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 12.6 million drivers aged 16 or older drove under the influence of illicit drugs and 20.5 million people in the same age group drove under the influence of alcohol that year.
Police said taking prescription drugs, especially those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, can also impair drivers and result in a DUI charge.
Drivers who are caught driving under the influence can expect a DUI arrest to result in jail time, fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspension and other expenses that can exceed $10,000.
