Palm Trees

2010 The Year of the Checkpoint in California

California’s Office of Traffic Safety has declared 2010 "The Year of the Checkpoint." California’s Office of Traffic Safety, the California Highway Patrol, and other law enforcement agencies will have 250 checkpoints between now and New Year’s Day. Their goal is to reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents in the state.

Last year traffic crashes involving drunk drivers killed 1,029 people in California and seriously injured more than 28,000 others.
The California Office of Traffic Safety will fund more than 2,500 sobriety checkpoints in 2010, more than 250 of which will take place between Dec. 18 and Jan. 3 as part of the December DUI Crackdown enforcement campaign. This is 47% more than the same time last year.

"To my knowledge, California conducts more checkpoints than any other state," said California Office of Traffic Safety Director Christopher J. Murphy. "DUI checkpoints are time-tested and proven as the most effective DUI countermeasure and I'm gratified that we're seeing the life-saving results."

Since the California Office of Traffic Safety and law enforcement began placing increased emphasis and funding toward sobriety checkpoints in 2006, alcohol-related deaths have declined in California.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, DUI deaths declined in California by 9.1 percent between 2007 and 2008, marking a total decrease of nearly 21 percent from the most recent high point in 2005.

In addition, statewide DUI arrests in 2008 were 214,811 - the highest since 1993.

California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow says, "The public can help by, first and foremost, planning ahead before you celebrate and designating a non-drinking driver. If you see a drunk driver, call 911."