One arrest was made for DUI during a checkpoint that lasted into the early-morning hours Saturday in San Luis Obispo.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department’s Traffic Unit held the DUI and driver license checkpoint on the 500 block of Higuera Street between 7 p.m. Friday and 1:30 a.m. Saturday.
Police say one person was arrested, believed to be driving under the influence of alcohol. Another driver was cited and more than 800 vehicles were screened.
The grant-funded checkpoint was placed in a location police say they felt had the greatest opportunity for deterring drunk or drugged driving while also being a safe place for officers and the general public.
“In recent years, California has seen a disturbing increase in drug-impaired driving crashes,” according to a news release. “San Luis Obispo Police Department supports the new effort from the Office of Traffic Safety that aims to educate all drivers that ‘DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze.’ If you take prescription drugs, particularly those with a driving or operating machinery warning on the label, you might be impaired enough to get a DUI. Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI.”
Police say studies show 30 percent of drivers in fatal crashes in California had at least one drug in their system at the time of the crash.
