CHP Checkpoint
updated: Aug 29, 2012, 2:11 PM

Source: California Highway Patrol

The California Highway Patrol, along several other agencies involved in the AVOID the 12 Campaign; will conduct a sobriety/driver license checkpoint on Friday, August 31, 2012, in the Santa Barbara area. Motorists approaching the checkpoint will see informational signs advising them that a sobriety checkpoint is ahead. Once diverted into the lane, motorists will be detained only a few moments while an officer explains the purpose of the checkpoint and checks their driver license.

CHP sobriety checkpoints are conducted in accordance with the guidelines for checkpoint operations outlined in the California Supreme Court decision, Ingersoll vs. Palmer.

Traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked. If volume becomes too heavy, vehicles to be checked will be selected by a pre-set standard (such as every 3rd, 5th, or 10th vehicle) to assure objectivity.

Placing checkpoints on roads identified with DUI problems and detaining drivers for a very limited time help assure that the CHP conforms to the guidelines. Checkpoints tend to reduce the number of drinking drivers on the road, even though arrest totals do not rise dramatically. A major value of checkpoints is their psychological influence. The news media is advised well in advance whenever a checkpoint is planned, since extensive publicity is also viewed as a legal safeguard.

The checkpoint will be operated from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. The CHP will generate an e-mail and/or fax notification detailing the location of the checkpoint approximately two hours prior to the opening.

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