San Gabriel, CA – San Gabriel Police Department Traffic Unit will conduct a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint on Saturday, February 18, 2012 at an undisclosed location within the city limits between the hours of  7:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m.

Police report that DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes. Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.

Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment.  Officers will also check for proper licensing and will work to delay drivers for only short periods.  Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

“Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed countless lives and resulted in injury crashes harming many of our friends and neighbors,” said Police Chief David A. Lawton.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while also yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent.  Checkpoints are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence and provide the greatest safety for officers and the public.