Laguna police to hold DUI checkpoint

The Laguna Beach Police Department will conduct a checkpoint to nab drivers who are under the influence or lacking a proper license from 9 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday, according to a news release.

The checkpoint, scheduled for an undisclosed location, is part of beefed-up efforts to stop drunk and drugged drivers and save lives, the release said.

“Over the course of the past three years, DUI collisions have claimed one life and have resulted in 37 injury crashes ... in Laguna Beach,” Lt. Jeff Calvert said in the release.

Nationally, a person was killed in a drunk-driving crash every 51 minutes in 2012, the latest year statistics were available, California Office of Traffic Safety assistant marketing director Chris Cochran wrote in an email. The frequency of such fatalities increased to one every 34 minutes during Labor Day weekend that year, the release said.

A DUI arrest can mean jail time, loss of driver’s license and steep financial penalties. The average DUI can cost up to $10,000.

Funding for the checkpoint is provided by a grant from the state’s Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The public can call 911 to report drunk drivers. The Office of Traffic Safety is offering a free mobile app at https://www.ddvipca.com.

For further information, csontact Calvert at (949) 464-6655 or[email protected].

—Bryce Alderton

Twitter: @AldertonBryce