DUI Checkpoint Around the Corner

Yeah there was one right on Ventura and DeSoto last night too shockingly

 

In an effort to keep the streets of Los Angeles safe during the Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations, the LAPD will conduct the following sobriety checkpoints during the upcoming week:

* March 12, 2010 (Friday) in West Valley Area;
* March 13, 2010 (Saturday) in 77th Street Area;
* March 17, 2010 (Wednesday) in Wilshire Area; and,
* March 19, 2010 (Friday) in North Hollywood Area.

Oh, and for the OCer's:

The Seal Beach Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Saturday, March 13, 2010, from 8pm to 3am on Pacific Coast Highway between Anderson and Seal Beach Blvd.

 

Geez.... St. Pats day must be a hoot in Kaulifornia... is that the LA version
of Mardi Gras? Around here it's green eggs and ham at the local Ihop

Jedi

 

I drove the other way right into that one last night. It was quite a showing! They asked for my license, which I showed then in my 1199 wallet. They got a kick out of it, and asked me to please show it to the guys in the front as well. They were pretty cool about things, but then again, I don't drink...

 

The local news in Sacramento occasionally features the "catch" list whenever the DUI checkpoints go up around town. At a single checkpoint, it goes something along the lines of;

* Traffic citations issued - 167
* Cars Towed - 9
* Warrant arrests - 4
* DUI - 1

DUI's yield the highest revenue.
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Talked to someone today who was pulled over in their car at the Seal Beach "shake down" location last night. They had their 19 yo son driving with 4 adults in the car after going out to dinner. The cops pulled them over and claimed they could smell alcohol in the car and made the son blow into the box.(the son had not had a drop) They said that cops were harsh and didn't even apologize for the inconvenience.(they were probably pissed they didn't get a score) They were let go under the circumstances.

 

They do it in front of our place every five months or so. It's a lot of fun to sit on the curb and watch as people pull all sorts of innovative maneuvers to avoid it-- unfortunately they also don't realize that there are four bike cops watching them as well.

 

They let everyone know exactly where the checkpoints will be beforehand...?

 

yep - by law in California the date/time/location of all dui checkpoints must be given to the media ahead of time.... i think it has something to do with the notifications mean its not an illegal search since there is no probable cause to check for dui in drivers that's didn't do anything wrong...

 

Here's why apparently:

"I wondered why Costa Mesa and Newport P.D.’s release DUI checkpoint plans to the press. So I called Costa Mesa Police Chief Shawkey, I wasn’t surprised; it’s all about civil rights.

“The Supreme Court identified factors for minimizing the intrusiveness on the individual while balancing the needs of society in keeping drunk drivers off the road” he said. “That’s why we have to give motorists early warning so a driver can exit the checkpoint if they wish to, a press release announcing where checkpoints will be, and a mathematical formula to decide which drivers are stopped that can only be changed by a supervisor.”