This is from the Oakland Police Department. According to my sources, the checkpoints will almost certainly be on or near Broadway, and not far from Luka's bar and restaurant and Sweets Lounge on Broadway -- the areas with the highest traffic on Friday night.
Personally, I think the best solution for the grant money funding this program is to have a free late-night shuttle service that goes from specific points around Lake Merritt and to stop areas near each bar. That would be a great alternative to driving. But this excuse to arrest someone is not solving the problem at all. As Willie Brown said in this video, "Drink. Drink. Drink. Then drive drunk so I can represent you."
In fact, San Francisco doesn't have a checkpoint system; most people take cabs which are in abundance. But also people do drive, some of them elected officials and wealthy people, and nothing ever happens to them in San Francisco. Look at the case of Harry Denton!
In Oakland, where the poorer and darker folks live, there's this "make a reason to lock 'em up" mentality that tends to keep Oakland less vibrant than it could be. Every idiot knows it's not good to drive drunk, but why not have programs to help people go out and have fun without driving? The police should make sure there's a line of taxi cabs in front of Luka's in a make-shift cab stand.
That's what winning cities do; have programs to help the local businesses, not scare the patrons. It's what Oakland is not doing.
Personally, I think the best solution for the grant money funding this program is to have a free late-night shuttle service that goes from specific points around Lake Merritt and to stop areas near each bar. That would be a great alternative to driving. But this excuse to arrest someone is not solving the problem at all. As Willie Brown said in this video, "Drink. Drink. Drink. Then drive drunk so I can represent you."
In fact, San Francisco doesn't have a checkpoint system; most people take cabs which are in abundance. But also people do drive, some of them elected officials and wealthy people, and nothing ever happens to them in San Francisco. Look at the case of Harry Denton!
In Oakland, where the poorer and darker folks live, there's this "make a reason to lock 'em up" mentality that tends to keep Oakland less vibrant than it could be. Every idiot knows it's not good to drive drunk, but why not have programs to help people go out and have fun without driving? The police should make sure there's a line of taxi cabs in front of Luka's in a make-shift cab stand.
That's what winning cities do; have programs to help the local businesses, not scare the patrons. It's what Oakland is not doing.
The Oakland Police Department will be conducting DUI/Drivers License checkpoint on Friday, September 19th, 2008, from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 A.M.
In an effort to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, DUI checkpoints are conducted to identify offenders and get them off the street, as well as educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving.
All too often, members of our community are senselessly injured or killed on local roadways by impaired drivers. This DUI/Drivers License checkpoint is an effort to reduce those tragedies, as well as insuring drivers have a valid driver’s license. A major component of these checkpoints is to increase awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and to encourage sober designated drivers.
A DUI checkpoint is a proven effective method for achieving this goal. By publicizing these enforcement and education efforts, the Oakland Police Department believes motorists can be deterred from drinking and driving.
Traffic volume and weather permitting, all vehicles may be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs will be arrested. Our objective is to send a clear message to those who are considering driving a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and/or drugs – Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest. The public is encouraged to help keep roadways safe by calling 911 if they see a suspected impaired driver.
Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. For more information about the DUI check point please contact Lieutenant Anthony Banks 510.777.8637.
Comments
Yoy may see this as a racist plot, I see it as a chance to get drunk drivers off the street, which I vigorously applaud. Nobody makes anyone DRINK, either. If folks can not control their impulses and MUST drink and drive, then let them get tickets. Mel Gibson did. Paris Hilton did. Britney Spears did. Three well known white rich "untouchables".
I got one in 1983. Best thing that ever happened to me. It changed my life.
http://www.duidefender.org/2008/08/29/judge-declares-san-francisco-dui-roadblock-unconstitutional/
There are way too many self-righteous people who have caused this system to evolve and yet nothing has changed.
Get smart. The real way to solve the problem is to have an interlock system in cars so that you can't drive if your breath is at a certain level of alcohol content. I too have one, and it's made me see a lot of contradictions in the system.
It's simply not working what we're doing. You know this. Admit it. The stats show it. I also point out that all the "stars" you point to live in California, where this system exists.
What do you want? A place where almost every driver has a DUI? That's where we're headed.
The current way is not working. I love cabs and limos. Let's give them the business, not the lawyers and the courts.
Interlocks? Fine. Though any halfway decent hacker will find a way to beat them. And who is going to pay to put them in the 8 million cars in CA?
Does the system work? Well it puts drunk drivers in jail..... And gives them alcohol education. Why are we supposed to pay for a system that does not allow us freedom of choice? I chose to not drink and drive.
It is -- still. Even with this "hook and book" mentality, arrest rates are still higher than in the past in holiday cases over the past year.
IT IS NOT WORKING. Our objective should be the deactivation of the car and the reduced incentive to use it.
You don't seem to care one whip about Oakland's night life and how it's impacted at all. I do. I want busness at night to thrive, not die. I want people to be able to hop on a bus or get a cheap limo and just go.
Nothing wrong with that.
The only difference is that I don't give a whit if a drunk driver is arrested. The decision to drive drunk impacts the entire populace, and a drunk behind the wheel makes the decision to endanger everyone. Remember, in Sweden, ONE DUI is lifetiime loss of driving privilege.