A sobriety checkpoint in North Hollywood began Friday afternoon. It is one in nearly a dozen that will be set up this weekend all across Los Angeles as authorities go on the hunt for drunk drivers.
The LAPD says last year over the Fourth of July weekend they arrested 54 drunk drivers. Over the entire year it was nearly 9,000 drivers. Sobriety checkpoints are one of the key tools in reducing the number of people killed and injured in alcohol-related crashes.
This year in L.A. County the CHP and local agencies, like the LAPD, are teaming up once again for the 100 DUI Taskforce. They are setting up sobriety checkpoints and DUI patrols from Pasadena to Palmdale, as well as Malibu to the South Bay.
It is a long list of locations as authorities try to keep the road safe. Their message: don't drink and drive. Police want to stress that it really doesn't take much to push you over the legal limit.
"One or two is still too many," said Capt. Ivan Minsal from the LAPD. "A combination of DUI is a combination to fatigue, driving ability, your medical history, whatever. The heat out here just accents all of that, so one drink could be like two drinks. Two drinks could be like four. Don't drink and drive."
We've all seen the deadly consequences of driving drunk; the horrific accidents that all too often are innocent lives that are lost.
Here's a number you should know. If you are convicted of driving under the influence, you likely will pay about $10,000 in fines and penalties.
If you end up busted at this DUI checkpoint, you're going to face handcuffs and you're certainly going to end up in court.
The message from authorities is that if you are going to choose to drink over the holiday weekend, simply make sure you have a designated driver.
Authorities say in the U.S. a person is killed by a drunk driver every 48 minutes, and that one life saved is well worth all the effort.
