San Luis Obispo Police conducted a DUI checkpoint on the 900 block of Marsh Street on Aug. 28.Â
The five-and-a-half-hour checkpoint led to three drivers being arrested for driving under the influence and one driver being arrested for driving with a suspended license, according to a SLOPD press release.
“Three suspected DUIs out of a checkpoint is pretty rare,” Christine Wallace, San Luis Obispo Police Public Affairs Manager, told Mustang News. “The majority of the folks that are arrested for suspected DUI in our community are typically from traffic stops, just in the community, and then as the result of collisions.”
Over the past nine months, five DUI checkpoints have been conducted by SLOPD, with zero DUI arrests being made three out of the five times, and two arrests being made at their Dec. 12 checkpoint, according to SLOPD press releases.
According to Wallace, SLOPD is required to conduct DUI checkpoints quarterly, as well as hands-free device enforcement operations and press releases on pedestrian safety. The dates of these operations are based on stipulations of the funding grant.
The recent DUI checkpoint and distracted driving enforcement operation was funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The OTS grant will also fund DUI saturation patrols, in which police deploy extra officers to specific areas to search for impaired drivers. While these operations may lead to more arrests, the goal is to improve safety for the community, including Cal Poly students.
“They are an important safety tool that helps draw awareness to the necessity for folks to utilize over a ride home,” Wallace said.