Driver beware — Modesto police setting up DUI checkpoints this Friday and next

DUI and driver’s license checkpoints will be operating Friday and March 29 in undisclosed locations within the Modesto city limits, the Police Department has announced.

Both will run from 7 p.m. Friday until 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

Over the past three years in Modesto, DUI-related crashes have killed 19 people and injured 343 more, the Police Department reported in a Facebook post.

Reporting 2012 numbers, the department said alcohol and drug impairment made up the largest category of overall vehicle fatalities, with 29 percent of all deaths caused by an intoxicated driver.

A well-publicized DUI checkpoint is a proven effective method to lower those numbers, the Police Department reported. Knowing the checkpoint is out there somewhere has some drivers think twice about getting behind the wheel — that night, at least.

Additionally at the checkpoints, drivers will be asked to produce a valid driver’s license. And when possible, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those suspected of drug-impaired driving.

If being responsible for injury or death isn’t enough of a deterrent not to drive impaired, the department warns that a DUI arrest and conviction can cost up to $10,000 or even more, including time in jail, the loss or your driver’s license and high insurance rates.

This story was originally published March 21, 2019 at 8:07 AM.