Over the long Labor Day Weekend, police officials across the state of California were focused on cracking down on those persons who were intoxicated at the wheel. Now, news is starting to come out about how successful those efforts were. A new report about those results places particular focus on the Bay Area.
On Sunday night, a drunk driving and drivers’ license checkpoint was set up by police in the city of Vacaville. Over the course of just six hours, the department was able to issue 23 citations to a driver who had some type of license issue. In addition, two arrests were made, one of which was to a person suspected of drunk driving.
The California Highway Patrol’s Golden Gate branch also carried out an enforcement effort over the course of the weekend, and by Sunday morning alone, that section of the agency was able to arrest 114 people that they suspected of driving while intoxicated. If those persons are eventually convicted, they could see their insurance rates rise dramatically and end up paying $10,000 once all attendants fines are taken into consideration.
California police entities are investing in checkpoints in a big way, as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has labeled the enforcement tactic as a cost-conscious way to post results. A sergeant with the Vacaville police noted that attention is given to those areas that give officers the best chance of catching offenders.