California Increases Sobriety Checkpoints

California’s Office of Traffic Safety, the California Highway Patrol, and other law enforcement agencies have declared 2010 as “The Year of the Checkpoint”. (Source)

The state of California is stepping up efforts to prevent drunk driving, as they usually do around this time of the year.  However, the California Office of Traffic Safety will fund more than 2,500 sobriety checkpoints in 2010, a 47 percent increase over the 1,700 conducted this year.

California is supposedly the state with the most checkpoints, but just how effective are they?

Sobriety Checkpoints: Rewards and Stories

Sobriety checkpoints can often be a hassle.  The last time I went through a checkpoint, there were four lanes of traffic that had to merge into two lanes…not to mention the long wait.  A 10 minute ride home had turned into a 45-minute ride home.  Yes, a big hassle it was.

But what if you were rewarded for being sober when you went through a checkpoint?  What if you were given a free turkey?

Labor Day Weekend DUI Statistics

The three-day Labor Day weekend in the U.S. is a time of gatherings and parties.  Summer is almost over in San Diego and everyone wants to just relax and unwind.  Of course, it’s also a weekend full of traffic and drunk drivers on the roadways which means more sobriety checkpoints.  In East Chula Vista my friend and I had to drive through a checkpoint right by the entrance of Freeway 125.  Every time it’s a holiday weekend, that’s where law enforcement establishes their post. 

Anyhow, here are some interesting statistics I came across in this article over at SignOnSanDiego.com titled “Holiday highway death toll drops in San Diego“.  The article states that three people died in traffic accidents during the Labor Day weekend, which is a 50% decrease from last year. 

However, there were 120 arrests for drunk driving in San Diego over the weekend which is an increase from last year’s 107 arrests.  Across the state of California there were 1,586 drunk driving arrests which was 6 more than 2007. 

Which makes me wonder…

Are sobriety checkpoints really that much of a drunk driving deterrent?  Granted, the number of arrests haven’t increased that much, but you have to wonder if there is anything more that should be done to actually bring down those numbers.