Ahh, the holidays. You know what that means: Parties, food, too much booze and DUI checkpoints! On Friday, Dec. 29, the Buena Park Police Department (BPPD) Traffic Unit will be out in full force conducting (a) DUI / drivers license checkpoint(s) between the hours of 6:00 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.
The exact location of the stop has yet to be disclosed by BPPD. They did, however, say that checkpoints (like this one) are “placed in locations based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, affording the greatest opportunity for achieving drunk and drugged driving deterrence.”
Technically, they didn’t say there’d only be one checkpoint. So that could mean BPPD is hosting a couple stops. It is a holiday weekend, mind you—and an amateur-hour holiday-weekend at that. So it’s probably best to assume there are checkpoints around every corner and that DUI enforcement officers are hiding in trees. In other words, it’s a wise decision to call a Lyft or Uber to get home.
BPPD also said that they’re not just looking for people with a BAC of .08 and higher. They’re also keeping an eye out for people exhibiting signs of other types of intoxication. “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,” reads a department advisory. “Marijuana can also be impairing, especially in combination with alcohol or other drugs, and can result in a DUI.”
So even though people argue that getting high and driving is chill, this weekend’s not the weekend to test out that theory. Otherwise you can kiss your paychecks for the next half decade goodbye. “Drivers caught driving impaired can expect the impact of a DUI arrest to include jail time, fines, fees, DUI classes, and other expenses that can exceed $10,000 not to mention the embarrassment when friends and family find out,” reads the APD announcement.
Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the BPPD by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
