LAKE COUNTY – The California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Office has announced that it will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Saturday, May 1.

“The desired result is to save lives and make everyone’s family summer excursion, for both our community residents and those visiting our beautiful county, a safe and pleasurable memory,” said Lt. Mark Loveless, CHP area commander.

The sobriety checkpoint will be staffed by officers who are trained in the detection of alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers.

Drug recognition experts, certified by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will be on site to provide on the spot assessments of drivers suspected of drug use.

The officers also will be equipped with state-of-the-art handheld breath devices which provide an accurate measure of blood alcohol concentrations of suspected drunk drivers.

“Traffic volume permitting, all vehicles will be checked and drivers who are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, or unlicensed, can expect to be arrested,” said Loveless.

“Our goal is to ensure the safe passage of each and every motorist by targeting roads where there is a high frequency of drunk driving,” he added. “DUI enforcement patrols, as well as sobriety checkpoints, are effective tools for achieving this goal and are designed to augment existing patrol operations. By publicizing our efforts, we believe that we can deter motorists from drinking and driving.”

Caltrans employees will be on site providing traffic control in order to ensure the safety of officers and motorists alike.

Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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