DUI Checkpoint Scheduled In Temecula This St. Patrick’s Weekend

The Temecula Police Department is warning St. Patrick’s partiers to stay off the road.

The Temecula Police Department's Traffic Unit will be conducting a DUI/driver's license checkpoint March 16, between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m., at an undisclosed location within the city limits.

Checkpoints are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence and provide the greatest safety for officers and the public, according to a report from Sgt. John Magnan.

Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint looking for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment. Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees, DUI classes, court probation and other expenses that can exceed $10,000, the sergeant reported.

Magnan warned of injuries and deaths caused by impaired drivers.

"Over the course of this year, DUI collisions have resulted in injuries to several of our friends and neighbors in Temecula," he said.

This DUI/driver's license checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies and officers will be checking drivers for proper licensing, according to Magnan's report.

A major component of checkpoints is the deterrent effect they have on those who might drive drunk or drugged, and to bring about more awareness, encouraging everyone to use sober designated drivers, he added.

Funding for Saturday’s operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.