Full Notification

MEDIA RELEASE / COMMUNITY ALERT
CITY of SAN MATEO POLICE DEPARTMENT
200 Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, CA 94403
www.cityofsanmateo.org





DUI/Drivers License checkpoint Planned this Friday
June 10, 2011 – Hillsdale Blvd. 6pm to 2am in San Mateo

San Mateo, CA – San Mateo Police Department will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, June 10, 2011 on Hillsdale Blvd between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. DUI checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, as well as being an valuable means for heightening awareness of the dangers of impaired driving.

Officers will be checking drivers through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and or drug impairments. Officers will check for proper licensing and will strive to impact motorists only momentarily. If officers suspect that a driver has been drinking or is impaired, they will conduct a field sobriety test. If you fail, expect jail, vehicle storage fees, license suspension, insurance increases, along with fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

“Over the course of the past three years in this area, DUI collisions have claimed 2 lives and resulted in 24 injury crashes harming 30 of our friends and neighbors,” said SMPD Traffic Sergeant Greg Jacobson.

Statewide, overall traffic deaths declined by 23 percent, from 3,995 in 2007 to 3,081 in 2009. Total traffic fatalities are at their lowest levels in six decades, when the federal government began compiling figures. DUI deaths declined by 16 percent, from 1,132 in 2007 to 950 in 2009, according to federal statistics. Alcohol impaired deaths still make up the largest category of overall vehicle fatalities in 2009, with 31 percent of all deaths caused by a drunk or impaired driver.

“Everyone in California should be heartened with these figures,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS). “But as encouraging as this is, we can’t let up on the efforts to encourage and support traffic safety. You can help make your community safe; if you see a Drunk Driver – Call 9-1-1.”

Funding for this and other DUI checkpoints are provided to San Mateo Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, targeting those who still don’t heed the message to designate a sober driver.


MEDIA REFERRAL: To schedule an interview regarding impaired driving efforts and programs in California please contact Chris Cochran, California Office of Traffic Safety at (916) 509-3063 or via email at [email protected].




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Please help us make your neighborhood safer and take a stand against crime. Please report all criminal behavior, join a neighborhood watch program, and help anyone that might fall victim to a crime. If a Neighborhood Watch doesn’t exist on your block, you can start one with help from SMPD. For additional information about the City of San Mateo Neighborhood Watch Program, call Sergeant Dave Norris at (650)522-7626 or visit our web www.cityofsanmateo.org

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