By Staff Writer
In recent years, California has seen a sharp increase in drug-impaired driving crashes. To combat this the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) will be conducting a DUI/Driver’s License Checkpoint on Thursday December 27, 2018 at an undisclosed location within the city limits between the hours of 7:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.
“The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) supports the Office of Traffic Safety in its effort to educate all drivers that ‘DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze’. If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI,” wrote SMPD Lieutenant Saul Rodriguez in a media release.
Drivers are encouraged to download the Designated Driver VIP, or “DDVIP,” free mobile app for Android or iPhone. The DDVIP app helps find nearby bars and restaurants that feature free incentives for the designated sober driver, from free non-alcoholic drinks to free appetizers and more. The feature-packed app even has social media tie-ins and even a tab for the non-DD to call Uber, Lyft or Curb.
Drivers caught driving impaired can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to include jail time, fines, fees, DUI classes, license suspensions and other expenses that can exceed $10,000 not to mention the embarrassment when friends and family find out.
Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the SMPD by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to ‘Report Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1’.
