HB police announce sobriety checkpoint

The Huntington Beach Police Department announced it would conduct a DUI and drivers license checkpoint at 9 p.m. Saturday. An exact location was not given.

Checkpoints are a proven way to reduce the number of people killed and injured in alcohol or drug related crashes, according to a news release from the department. Crashes involving alcohol drop about 20% when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough, it added.

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

In 2010, more than 10,000 people were killed nationally in car accidents involving at least one driver or motorcycle rider with a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher, according to the release.

Over the course of the past three years, DUI accidents have claimed five lives and resulted in 866 crashes, harming 455 of our friends and neighbors in Huntington Beach, the release states.

The checkpoints reportedly save $6 for every $1 spent. Funding for this checkpoint is provided to the Huntington Beach Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

—Alicia Lopez

Twitter: @AliciaLopezHB