DUI Checkpoint Friday in West Hollywood

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will conduct a checkpoint to screen drivers for alcohol and license possession Friday starting at 7 p.m. and ending 3 a.m. Saturday morning.

The checkpoint will be on San Vicente Boulevard near Beverly Boulevard, said Sgt. Charles Braden of the West Hollywood Station.

The locations of DUI/CDL checkpoints are based on DUI-related activity in the area.

Drivers suspected of being intoxicated will be pulled from their vehicles and taken to an onsite testing area, said Detective Daniel Dail of the Sheriff's Traffic Services Detail. Deputies are equipped with portable devices that measure the level of alcohol in a person's system called "pulminary alcohol screening" devices.

Statewide, overall traffic deaths have declined 23 percent from 3,995 in 2007 to 3,081 in 2009 and total traffic fatalities are at their lowest level in six decades. DUI deaths have declined from 1,132 in 2007 to 950 in 2009, which is a decrease of over 16 percent, the sheriff's department said.

Funding for these operations is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety http://www.ots.ca.gov/ through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration http://www.nhtsa.gov/.

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