MISSION VIEJO : Sobriety Checkpoint Is Planned Friday

One of the holiday season’s first sobriety checkpoints will be conducted Friday at an undisclosed location in the city.

Between the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m., Orange County sheriff’s deputies will put up a roadblock and check each driver who uses the undisclosed thoroughfare.

“As a result of programs such as sobriety checkpoints, increased enforcement and education,” said Lt. George Johnson, who heads the Mission Viejo police contingent, “the number of collisions involving intoxicated drivers continues to drop.”

Since the checkpoint program began in Mission Viejo three years ago, Johnson said, he has been encouraged by the public’s response.

“The numbers (of drunk-driving deaths) are still much too high,” he said. “(but) we are heartened at the popularity of the designated driver with the community during this season of parties and family get-togethers.”

Instead of running two or three checkpoints during the holidays, Mission Viejo, which contracts with the Sheriff’s Department for police service, is trying something different this year.

The checkpoint Friday will be the only one this month. Deputies will supplement it by sending out special teams on two other weekends to look for drunk drivers.

“Statistics show that a combination (of enforcement procedures) is the best way to handle the situation,” said Sgt. Fred Lisanti, who is in charge of the city’s program against drunk driving this year. “This will be an experiment year for us. We’ll be looking to see how things work out.”

Last year, deputies operating the Mission Viejo checkpoints stopped 2,200 vehicles on two evenings. Sixteen drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.