Checks of balancing

Marisa O’Neil

Darkened headlights after 10 p.m. gave police the first clue that the

Dodge Avenger’s driver might not make it through the sobriety

checkpoint.

The driver, who tested at more than twice the legal limit for

alcohol on a preliminary breath test, was one of nearly 3,000

motorists who drove through a Costa Mesa checkpoint Dec. 3 on Newport

Boulevard. He was also one of 13 arrested that night on suspicion of

driving under the influence.

So far this year, nine people have died in traffic collisions in

the city -- up from just two deaths last year -- police said. More

than half of last year’s accidents were alcohol-related.

Police hope that seeing sobriety checkpoints will make people

think twice about driving drunk -- and prevent any more serious

accidents.

“What do you have to do to get someone to put $20 in their shoe or

tape it to the steering wheel so they can get a cab home?” Costa Mesa

Police Sgt. Rich Allum asked as he watched officers stop cars at the

checkpoint, across from the night spots Sutra Lounge and Yard House.

On the sidewalk, only a few feet away from Allum, Costa Mesa

Police and California Highway Patrol officers were conducting field

sobriety tests on three people.

Officers at the checkpoint stopped every three to 10 drivers,

depending on traffic flow, in the northbound lanes headed toward the

Costa Mesa Freeway, a popular route home from bars in Newport Beach

and Costa Mesa.

Those who said they hadn’t been drinking and showed no signs of

intoxication got a keychain and a pamphlet about the dangers of

drinking and driving. Costa Mesa takes a zero-tolerance approach to

drunken driving, arresting and impounding the cars of those they

suspect of driving under the influence.

“The ones who are sober are generally appreciative,” Allum said.

“It’s about education. We are zero tolerance, but we’re out there

educating people.”

People of questionable sobriety -- such as the Avenger driver, who

officers said smelled of alcohol -- were told to get out of their

cars. Police volunteers drove those cars off the road while officers

interviewed the drivers and gave them field sobriety tests.

Some people tested stood steadily and confidently as they spoke

with officers. Some swayed like palms in a gentle breeze and squinted

their eyes as they listened to the officers.

Anyone who had difficulty passing the sobriety test got a breath

test to see if they were over the legal blood-alcohol level of .08%.

The Avenger driver, who slurred his speech and had difficulty

standing still, tested at .2%. Police arrested him at the scene and

had his car towed to the impound yard.

He admitted to drinking four bottles of beer before getting behind

the wheel. For many people who drive drunk, the fear of getting

caught often outweighs worries for the safety of others, said Michael

Donohue, a spokesman with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who was

observing the checkpoint.

“The biggest deterrent is knowing you will get pinched,” Donohue

said. “People who drive under the influence do it because they think

they can get away with it.”

Added enforcement, like the DUI checkpoints and roving patrols

looking for impaired drivers seek to let fewer people get away with

it. But more importantly, they aim to have fewer people die as the

result of drunken driving, Costa Mesa Police Officer Bryan Wadkins

said.

“The biggest way to prevent a DUI accident is to arrest [the

drivers],” Wadkins said. “Who knows how many of the arrests we made

-- if six of those weren’t made, who’s to say they wouldn’t have

gotten into an accident and killed someone?”

As of Nov. 30, Costa Mesa Police had arrested 626 people suspected

of driving under the influence, he said. That’s up nearly 13% from

the previous year.

And although a recent state report suggested that cities that

conduct DUI checkpoints have fewer traffic deaths, Costa Mesa’s

numbers this year represent an unfortunate anomaly.

This year, five people were killed in alcohol-related accidents,

Costa Mesa Police traffic investigator Carlos Diaz said.

The hardest part of his job, he said, is having to tell families

that a loved one has died.

Sobriety checkpoints, funded by grants from the California Office

of Traffic Safety, do serve the purpose of catching drunken drivers,

Diaz said. But they also raise awareness of the problem and educate

drivers, he said.

“With a DUI checkpoint, people realize we’re out here,” he said.

“And people don’t want to get caught.”

Costa Mesa is working with the state to develop different methods

to stop people from drinking and driving, Wadkins said. The Police

Department just got a grant for more than $400,000 to develop the

Remove the Aggressive and Intoxicated Driver program, he said.

That money will be used to buy new patrol motorcycles, to put less

conspicuous patrol cars on the road and to buy tools such as laser

guns to check drivers’ speeds, Wadkins said. The department will also

be able to have DUI enforcement officers working more shifts and will

have educational programs at local high schools, he said.

Police don’t want to spoil anybody’s fun, Wadkins said. They just

want people to have fun responsibly.

“If you talk to people in the county, the word is out there,” he

said. “We’re one of the most aggressive departments looking for DUIs

in the county....They know don’t drive through Costa Mesa if you’ve

been drinking.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.