Community Corner

Checkpoint, News Conference Aim to Curb Holiday Drunk Driving

City and LAPD officials plan to warn the public of the dangers of drunk driving at a press conference Friday.

Hoping to offer a warning to potential drunk drivers this July 4 holiday weekend, Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge, the LAPD and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) will be holding a news conference at 5 p.m. Friday telling the public about the dangers and penalties of drunk driving.

The news conference will take place at the North Hollywood Metro Red Line Station at 5350 North Lankershim Blvd. and will be followed immediately after by a live LAPD sobriety checkpoint on Lankershim. Attached to this story is a video of a sobriety checkpoint that Patch visited in Sherman Oaks in December.

Also at the news conference will be Capt. Peter Whittingham of the LAPD North Hollywood Division, LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese of the Valley Bureau, LAPD Capt. Ivan Minsal of the Valley Traffic Division and a MADD representative.

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In a press release announcing the event, the LAPD pointed to some important facts:

  • On average, someone is killed by a drunk driver in the United States every 48 minutes.
  • LAPD officers arrested nearly 9,000 persons for driving under the influence of alcohol during 2010. Also last year, there were 952 collisions involving intoxicated drivers in the city of Los Angeles.
  • Alcohol and drugs affect judgment, reaction time, concentration, vision and play a major role in traffic collisions.
  • Sobriety checkpoints are a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol-involved crashes, as well as being a valuable means for heightening the awareness of impaired driving dangers. Those who fail sobriety tests can expect to pay more than $10,000 in expenses and fines.

For more information, please contact Valley Traffic Detective Bill Bustos at 818-644-8021 or LAPD Media Relations at 213-486-5910.

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