Redlands Police Department Set for Another DUI And License Checkpoint

The Redlands Police Deaprtment is taking another step to regulate alcohol use and public safety. The Police Department will conduct a sobriety/drivers license checkpoint beginning at 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10, in the northbound lanes of 6th Street at Stuart Avenue, continuing through 3 a.m. Saturday. Funding for these checkpoints is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. DUI checkpoints are a component of the Redlands Police Department’s Responsible Redlands initiative. The Redlands Police Department, with the support of state agencies, including the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and Office of Traffic Safety, the County of San Bernardino, and local businesses and community groups, launched the initiative in late August to focus on enforcing alcohol laws. The campaign includes DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols to identify intoxicated drivers, party patrols to enforce the City’s Social Host Ordinance, decoy operations to cite businesses and individuals who provide alcohol to underage persons and educational efforts for local businesses that serve alcohol. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 32,367 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes across the nation in 2011, and 31 percent (9,878) of those fatalities occurred in drunk-driving-related crashes. Californians witnessed a total of 2,835 deaths with 774 killed in DUI crashes on their streets and highways. The Redlands Police Department wants to remind drivers of these important tips: • Even one drink can impair your judgment and increase the risk of getting arrested for driving drunk - or worse, the risk of having a crash while driving. • If you will be drinking, do not plan on driving. Plan ahead; designate a sober driver before the party begins. • If you have been drinking, do not drive. Call a taxi, phone a sober friend or family member or use public transportation. • Be responsible. If someone you know is drinking, do not let that person get behind the wheel. • If you see an impaired driver on the road, contact law enforcement.