CityofGoletaSource: Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office
The Goleta Police Department will hold a DUI checkpoint tomorrow, Friday, July 2, 2021, from 6:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. at an undisclosed location within the City of Goleta. Checkpoint locations are chosen based on a history of DUI crashes and arrests. The primary purpose of checkpoints is not to make arrests, but to promote public safety by deterring drivers from driving impaired. During the checkpoint, officers will look for signs that drivers are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
The Goleta Police Department is committed to keeping the traveling public safe during the Independence Day holiday weekend. “The safety of our community is and always will be our mission,” Senior Deputy Jeff Farmer said. “We are looking for impaired drivers because driving under the influence is dangerous and puts others on the road at risk.”
The Goleta Police Department reminds the public that impaired driving is not just from alcohol. Some prescription medications or over-the-counter drugs may interfere with driving. Always follow directions for use and read warning labels about driving or “operating heavy machinery,” which includes driving a car. While medicinal and recreational marijuana are legal, driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal. If you plan on drinking or taking medications that may impact your ability to drive safely, plan on staying at home.
Drivers charged with a first-time DUI face an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties, as well as a suspended license. Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The cost of these things – usually just to arrest people driving without valid licenses – are immense. A command center and 20 cops standing around doing jack runs in the tens of thousands of dollars. Pretty much all of those officers are being paid overtime for it too, superiors figure they might as well waste the grant money to make their subordinates happy.
And there really is only a small sweet spot for which a checkpoint is a deterrent – those just buzzed enough to impair driving but realize they could get in trouble, the ones who are drunk as hell and most likely to cause a catastrophic accident aren’t thinking about checkpoints or consequences..
Just a big ol waste of money to terrorize the community.