The last in a string of DUI checkpoints arranged by the Santa Maria Police Department (SMPD) in 2017 again failed to catch any intoxicated drivers. As in previous checkpoints, none of the 532 drivers screened on Dec. 29, 2017, were arrested for drugged or alcohol-impaired driving.
The SMPD’s Traffic Unit conducted several DUI checkpoints throughout the last year with funding from a $365,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety. The checkpoints, according to an SMPD press release, are publicized events aimed at decreasing Santa Maria’s high rates of alcohol- and drug-impaired driving.
Santa Maria was ranked the ninth worst of 57 cities of its size for alcohol-involved driving incidents in 2015, the most recent year data was available to the Office of Traffic Safety. That year, there were 76 individuals injured or killed because of alcohol-impaired drivers. The 2015 ranking, however, is an improvement from 2014, when Santa Maria was ranked third worst of 57 cities.
Impaired driving, whether it’s from drugs or alcohol, is still the No. 1 killer on California roadways, according to Chris Cochran, assistant director of marketing and public affairs for the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Impaired drivers cause nearly 50 percent of all the state’s crashes, Cochran said, and while the state claims to have a handle on drunk driving, drugged driving is rapidly becoming a more prevalent issue.
“Driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is becoming a bigger and bigger problem every year,” Cochran said. “That is a serious thing that makes us work extra hard.”
The Dec. 29 checkpoint—during which officers stopped every driver who passed by 900 South Broadway between the hours of 6 p.m. and 3 a.m.—was the SMPD’s third this year. Checkpoints, according to SMPD Traffic Bureau Supervisor Duane Schneider, are meant to influence people into avoiding impaired driving.
Through the grant, the department is required to publicize the checkpoint dates and times, Schneider said, and they don’t net a lot of DUI arrests. Some individuals share the checkpoint locations on social media, in hopes their friends will see the post and avoid the area.
“But we hope at least some people will say, ‘You know what, let’s just get a designated driver,'” Schneider said.
The department conducted two DUI checkpoints before Dec. 29, 2017. On Nov. 11, 2017, 11 of 12 citations written were for inadequately licensed drivers—some unlicensed and others driving with revoked or suspended licenses. No DUI citations were given.
The Dec. 29 checkpoint produced similar results, according to the department. While no DUI arrests were made, one driver was cited for driving without a valid license.
The SMPD, according to the department, will be conducting its first checkpoint of 2018 on Jan. 27.
This article appears in Jan 4-11, 2018.