By Sara Beth Williams–
One driver was arrested last Thursday and 15 citations were issued during the Citrus Height’s Police Department’s recent DUI checkpoint.
The police department partnered with the Law Enforcement Chaplaincy Sacramento and the Elk Grove Police Department to conduct a DUI/Driver’s License checkpoint on Dec. 18. The operation took place on Sylvan Road at Stock Ranch Road in Citrus Heights.
During the hours of 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., 712 vehicles were screened, 15 citations were issued, two Standardized Field Sobriety Tests were conducted, and one was arrested while five vehicles were towed.
“The collaboration with our regional partners went well, and the checkpoint helped reinforce our commitment to vehicular and pedestrian safety,” the Police Department said in a statement Tuesday.
The last time a DUI checkpoint took place in September, four were arrested and officers screened 923 vehicles over the course of the evening and into early morning hours.
Funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety, the checkpoint was part of an ongoing effort to deter impaired driving and promote road safety.
The department emphasizes that checkpoints like this are critical in helping reduce alcohol- and drug-related crashes, which remain a leading cause of serious injuries and deaths on California roadways.
While DUI checkpoints are announced in advance, locations are kept undisclosed. The department says locations are determined after analyzing data showing incidents of impaired driving-related crashes. The purpose of DUI checkpoints is to “promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off the road.”
