■ Location based on ‘safety considerations for officers, public’

Benicia police will conduct checks Friday to make sure motorists have their driver’s licenses and that they aren’t driving while impaired.

Lt. Frank Hartig said the checkpoint will begin at 7 Friday night and will wrap up about 1 a.m. Saturday.

But where that checkpoint will be is a secret, Hartig said.

He only gave a few hints.

Based on collision statistics and frequency of DUI arrests, checkpoints such as the one Benicia police will conduct are placed in locations that have the greatest opportunity for achieving drunken and drugged driving deterrence, he said.

“Locations are chosen with safety considerations for the officers and the public,” Hartig said.

The most recent checkpoint to find intoxicated motorists or those driving without proper paperwork was in December 2013, he said. “During this particular event, there were no DUI arrests made,” he said.

But that doesn’t disappoint the department, Hartig said. Instead, the checkpoints are seen as deterrents, rather than a way of “catching” a drunken driver or one driving without ID.

“The deterrent effect of DUI checkpoints is a proven resource in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol- or drug-involved crashes,” he said.

“Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough.”

During Friday’s checkpoint, officers will stop motorists and check them for signs of alcohol or drug impairment, Hartig said. They’ll also ask for motorists’ driver’s licenses.

He said they’ll try to delay drivers “only momentarily.” However, specially trained officers will be available to evaluate those who appear to be impaired by alcohol or drugs, Hartig said.

At that point, he warned, things get serious.

“Drivers caught driving impaired can expect jail, license suspension, and insurance increases, as well as fines, fees,” he said.

“DUI classes (and) other expenses can exceed $10,000.”

He said in 2011 nearly 10,000 people were killed nationally in motor vehicle accidents that involved at least one driver who was impaired, that is, with a blood-alcohol concentration of at least .08 percent.

“In California, this deadly crime led to 774 deaths because someone failed to designate a sober driver,” Hartig said.

He said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has cited checkpoints as providing the “most effective documented results of any of the DUI enforcement strategies.”

It’s also an economical approach: For every dollar spent on a checkpoint, $6 is saved, Hartig said.

“DUI checkpoints have been an essential part of the phenomenal reduction in DUI deaths that we have witnessed since 2006 in California,” said Christopher J. Murphy, director of the state Office of Traffic Safety.

“But since the tragedy of DUI accounts for nearly one-third of traffic fatalities, the city of Benicia needs the high-visibility enforcement and public awareness that checkpoints provide.”

Funding for Friday’s checkpoint comes from a grant from the Office of Traffic Safety, through the NHTSA, Hartig said.

He said residents can help reduce intoxicated driving even when there is no checkpoint. “If you see a drunk driver, call 9-1-1,” he said.