Crime & Safety
VIDEO: Police Stop Drivers at Topanga Canyon Blvd. Sobriety Checkpoint
The LAPD conducted a sobriety checkpoint Friday evening between Devonshire and Chatsworth Streets.
The LAPD conducted a Topanga Canyon Boulevard sobriety checkpoint Friday evening between Devonshire and Chatsworth Streets.
Were you stopped?
In their own words, here's why the police set up the operation:
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"Sobriety checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol-involved crashes, as well as being an valuable means for heightening awareness of the dangers of impaired driving.
"Officers will be checking drivers through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and or drug impairments. Officers will check for proper licensing and will strive to impact motorists only momentarily. If officers suspect that a driver has been drinking or is impaired, they will conduct a field sobriety test. Those who fail, should expect jail, vehicle storage fees, license suspension, insurance rate increases, along with fines, fees, driving under the influence classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.
"Statewide, overall traffic deaths declined by 23 percent, from 3,995 in 2007 to 3,081 in 2009. Total traffic fatalities are at their lowest levels in six decades, when the federal government began compiling figures. Driving under the influence deaths declined by 16 percent, from 1,132 in 2007 to 950 in 2009, according to federal statistics. Alcohol impaired deaths still make up the largest category of overall vehicle fatalities in 2009, with 31 percent of all deaths caused by a drunk or impaired driver.
" 'Everyone in California should be heartened with these figures,' said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). 'But as encouraging as this is, we can’t let up on the efforts to encourage and support traffic safety. You can help make your community safe; if you see a Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1.'
"Funding for this and other DUI checkpoints are provided to the Los Angeles Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, targeting those who still don’t heed the message to designate a sober driver. For further information, please contact Officer Don Inman, Emergency Operations Division, at (213) 486-0703."
