Several Sacramento area law-enforcement agencies will be on the lookout for drunken drivers this weekend, part of a nationwide crackdown on impaired drivers that begins today.
Sacramento and Rancho Cordova police, along with officers from eight Yolo County law-enforcement agencies, are among the local authorities participating in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's nationwide campaign, titled "Drunk Driving. Over the Limit. Under Arrest."
The crackdown begins today and will continue through Sept. 1.
Rancho Cordova police will have a sobriety checkpoint from 8 o'clock tonight until 2 a.m. Saturday morning at an undisclosed location in the city, Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Curran stated in a news release.
On Saturday night, Sacramento police will set up a sobriety checkpoint downtown, Sgt. Matt Young said.
In both places, officers will check motorists for drunken and drug-impaired drivers.
Elk Grove police will be holding a sobriety and driver's license checkpoint at an undisclosed location in the city at 8 p.m. Saturday.
In Yolo County, officers will look for impaired drivers throughout the roughly two-week enforcement period, according to a news release.
"Because we're committed to ending the carnage, we're intensifying enforcement during the crackdown," Davis Police Chief Landy Black said in a written statement. "We'll be especially vigilant during high-risk nighttime hours when impaired drivers are most likely to be on our roads."
In 2006, nearly 13,500 people died throughout the country in crashes in which motorists were legally impaired, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's latest statistics.
There were 1,597 alcohol-related deaths in California in 2006.
More than $30 million in state and federal funds will be spent nationwide on the high-visibility crackdown through television and radio ads targeting young male drivers, who most often drive under the influence, NHTSA statistics show.
An additional $20 million will be spent nationwide on extra police enforcement, including saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints during the enforcement period.
According to the traffic safety administration, well-publicized and highly visible DUI enforcement activities can reduce alcohol-related fatalities by up to 20 percent.
Call The Bee's Niesha Lofing, (916) 321-1270.
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