Police Get Grant to Fight Drunk Driving

The Oxnard and Port Hueneme police departments received another state grant to fund programs to combat drunk driving, officials said Tuesday.

The $200,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety will help fund an on-going series of sobriety checkpoints and community awareness programs, officials said.

The money will pay for at least 48 checkpoints over the next 24 months, officials said.

News of the grants comes just as the two departments are preparing to set up a sobriety checkpoint Friday at an undisclosed intersection in Oxnard. The officers will stop drivers and administer field sobriety tests to those who appear drunk or under the influence of drugs, police said.

Using a previous state grant, the two agencies have been able to step up the use of such checkpoints.

The officers may also check the licenses of drivers going through the checkpoint in an effort to get unlicensed motorists off the streets. State law allows police to impound the car of a driver found operating a vehicle without a valid license.

The checkpoint will begin at 7 p.m. and last until 4 a.m.