Santa Monica, California Roadblocks

Santa Monica police will be conducting a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint in the city Friday evening, Aug. 26.

Funding for the checkpoint is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For more information: Sgt. Jeff Wiles at the Santa Monica Police Department Traffic Enforcement Unit at (310) 458-8950, or Sgt. Richard Lewis at (310) 458-8462.

April 2, 2010 –Last month’s sobriety checkpoint by the Santa Monica Police Department at the 300 block of Pico Boulevard led to two arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol. More than 1,000 people drove through the checkpoint area on the night of March 17, and 242 were stopped in the random screening process.

Five people were cited for driving without a license. Another eight were cited for other violations. Twenty-nine people were found to have "somewhat of an objective symptom," causing police officers to require a field sobriety test. But all but the two who were arrested were allowed to go on their way following the tests. There were 342 arrests for DUI in Santa Monica last year.

The SMPD did not have available statistics from previous years to make a comparison. Last year saw a decrease in DUI-related collisions, with 36 taking place in 2009 and 48 taking place in 2008. Trisler did not immediately have information on how many of those collisions involved fatalities. Statewide, DUI incidents are down significantly. According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, there were 1,029 DUI-related fatalities in 2008 (the most recent year from which statistics are available). That is a 9.1 percent decrease from 2007 and a 20.1 percent decrease from 2005.

Friday, November 20. Officers conducted a drivers license, and DUI checkpoint, at Lincoln Boulevard and Michigan Avenue, in order to enforce the law, and improve safety on the roads. The results were as follows: 1,667 vehicles entered the checkpoint. 364 vehicles were checked. Six vehicles were impounded for unlicensed/suspended driver’s license. Six misdemeanor citations of various kinds were issued, as were two citations for possession of marijuana as well as four traffic related citations. Apparently however, there were no DUI’s. The races, ages, and genders of those booked for the above offences were not available to The Mirror at the time of going to press. Santa Monica Mirror

November 17, 2009 — You should never drink and drive, but if you plan to travel in the vicinity of Lincoln Boulevard and Michigan Avenue Friday evening, be especially sure the person behind the wheel is sober. The Santa Monica Police Department will be conducting a Sobriety/ Drivers license check point to confirm their sobriety and drivers license status, police announced Tuesday. It will be the first of several checkpoints to be conducted over the next twelve-month period, police said.