Palm Desert is working extra hard to crack down on DUI enforcement. The city has received an additional $163,167 in grant money from the California Office of Traffic Safety to limit drunk driving in the area.
Local police officers and Los Angeles DUI attorneys know that the city of Palm Desert has not faired well in recent years when it comes to DUI accidents. In a 2008 study, Palm Desert ranked eighth out of 97 cities with populations under 50,000, in the number of fatal and injury traffic collisions. It ranked ninth out of the 97 in number of alcohol related crashes.
The funds, granted by the California Office of Traffic Safety, will be allocated to 4 major areas: anti-DUI education, DUI checkpoints, saturation patrols, and a new trailer for DUI equipment.
"We're planning to have four checkpoints and 15 saturation patrols over the term of the grant," Sgt. Mike Bianco said in a Desert Sun article.
The DUI "trailer," would make it easier and safer to conduct a DUI arrest in Palm Desert. The trailers typically include a secure facility where a person may have a breath or blood test performed upon suspicion of a DUI. With a trailer, breath and blood tests would not have to be performed on the road side, which protects the safety of the officers and the suspect.
Saturation patrols offer a high concentration of police officers in one area looking for signs of people driving drunk, whereas DUI checkpoints are physical stopping points for cars that yield drunk driving visibility.
So if you're traveling through Palm Desert, look out! Drunk driving enforcement just jumped up to a whole new level.
Related Resources:
Field Sobriety Tests and Checkpoints (FindLaw)
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