If you plan to drink tonight, it would be best to have a designated driver handy.
The Santa Monica Police Department's Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI/Driver's License Checkpoint on April 18 at an undisclosed location within the city limits between the hours of 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.
The deterrent effect of DUI checkpoints is a proven resource in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol or drug involved crashes. Research shows that crashes involving an impaired driver can be reduced by up to 20 percent when well-publicized DUI checkpoints and proactive DUI patrols are conducted routinely.
In California, this deadly crime led to 802 deaths in 2012 because someone failed to designate a sober driver. Nationally, the latest data shows nearly 10,000 were killed by an impaired driver.
"Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions in Santa Monica have claimed one life and resulted in 67 injury crashes harming 95 of our friends and neighbors," said Sgt. Phillbo Rubish.