Police Will Set Up Sobriety Checkpoint

In an effort to educate motorists about the dangers of drinking and driving, as well as the stiff penalties involved, the San Diego Police Department will set up a sobriety checkpoint Friday night at an undisclosed location, spokesman Bill Robinson said.

The roadblock is designed to remind motorists that if they drink and drive, they risk arrest, a $1,000 fine and a 90-day license suspension for a first offense. Officers at the checkpoint will distribute pamphlets to each driver who passes through, Robinson said.

“Drivers will be selected to move through the check line on a preset basis to ensure objectivity and timeliness,” he said.

The location of the checkpoint will not be disclosed until two hours before the inspections begin, but it will be on a road that has had a high number of alcohol-related accidents and arrests. The number of officers involved will depend on the area, Robinson said. The roadblock will last from 10 p.m. Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday.

“The size and area of the checkpoint will be determined by where there have been a lot of serious accidents by drunk drivers and arrests,” Robinson said. “The motorists will be detained at the checkpoint for quick, 30-second inspections, unless they are suspected of being drunk and (are) asked to perform a field sobriety test.”

Robinson, who said 50% of all traffic fatalities in San Diego are alcohol-related, noted that the checkpoints have been used in the past.

“This has been done previously in the San Diego area by both us and the CHP. The sobriety tests have been established as an effective tool against drunk drivers by most municipal police departments,” he said. “They have been well received by the public, and we will continue them on a sporadic basis.”

The number of arrests of people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has increased this year, Robinson said. During the first three months of 1987, police arrested 1,906 people. For the same period this year, 1,946 were arrested.