Police to Operate DUI Checkpoint in Napa Saturday Night

The Napa County Avoid the 9 DUI Task Force will be conducting a DUI/Drivers License Checkpoint on Saturday, April 20, at an undisclosed location within the Napa city limits between the hours of 6 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Officers will be contacting drivers passing through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and/or drug impairment.  Officers will also check drivers for proper licensing and will strive to delay motorists only momentarily.  

When possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving. 

Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension and insurance increases -- as well as fines, fees, DUI classes, other expenses that can exceed $10,000.

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 alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.

“Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed six lives and resulted in 21 injury crashes harming 32 of our friends and neighbors,” said Napa Police Sgt. Brian Campagna.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), checkpoints have provided the most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies, while also yielding considerable cost savings of $6 for every $1 spent. 

“DUI checkpoints have been an essential part of the phenomenal reduction in DUI deaths that we witnessed since 2006 in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, Director of the Office of Traffic Safety.  “But since the tragedy of DUI accounts for nearly one third of traffic fatalities, Napa County needs the high visibility enforcement and public awareness that checkpoints provide.”

Funding for this checkpoint is provided to Napa Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, reminding everyone to continue to work together to bring an end to these tragedies.  If you see a drunk driver, call 911.

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