Nature of Incident: Driver’s License/DUI Checkpoint
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Date & Time: April 28, 2018 7:00 pm to 3:00 am
Unit Responsible: Thousand Oaks Police - Traffic Bureau
Narrative: Driver’s License/DUI Checkpoint Planned
Thousand Oaks, CA – The Thousand Oaks Police Department Traffic Unit will be conducting a Driver’s License/DUI Checkpoint on April 28, 2018 at an undisclosed location(s) within the city limits.
The deterrent effect of High Visibility Enforcement using both DUI checkpoints and DUI Saturation Patrols has proven to lower the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug impaired crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized proactive DUI operations are conducted routinely.
DUI Checkpoints like this one are placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence. Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public.
In California, alcohol involved collisions led to 1,155 deaths and nearly 24,000 serious injuries in 2014 because someone failed to designate a sober driver. Locally, over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed 6 lives and resulted in 85 injury crashes harming 112 of our friends and neighbors.
Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment, with officers checking drivers for proper licensing, delaying motorists only momentarily. When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving, which now accounts for a growing number of impaired driving crashes.
Studies of California drivers have shown that 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes had one or more drugs in their systems. A study of active drivers showed more tested positive for drugs that may impair driving (14 percent) than did for alcohol (7.3 percent). Of the drugs, marijuana was most prevalent, at 7.4 percent, slightly more than alcohol. Everyone should be mindful that if you’re taking medication – whether prescription or over-the-counter – drinking even small amounts of alcohol can greatly intensify the impairment affects.
The California Office of Traffic Safety DDVIP (Designated Driver VIP) mobile app is now available for free to download on iOS and Android devices. Launched last year, the new DDVIP app offers enhanced features, allowing users to “Map a Spot” with their current location to find DDVIP partnering establishments in their area or a “List of Spots” to search all participating bars and restaurants throughout California.
Users will be offered free incentives at each bar to celebrate their life saving role. They can stay up-to-date with the latest from DDVIP and see what other users are saying via its social tab. Also through the app, for those who want to imbibe but also make it a point to plan ahead, users can easily order a sober ride from Uber, Lyft or Curb- all from one screen. For more information about DDVIP, visit http://www.ots.ca.gov/pdf/DDVIP-App.pdf
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 Thousand Oaks Police Department 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’.
Prepared by: Sergeant Carl Patterson #2898
News Story Date: April 25, 2018
Follow-Up Contact: Sgt. Carl Patterson
Office # 805 373-2322
[email protected]
Approved by: Captain Don Aguilar
