DUI Checkpoint Set for Tonight in Newport Beach

Orange County law enforcement agencies will be out in Newport Beach tonight looking for drunken drivers and checking driver's licenses.

“Drive sober or get pulled over" is the message law enforcement is sending to residents now through Labor Day weekend. CHP, police and sheriff’s deputies will be looking for impaired drivers during the crackdown throughout Orange County and will arrest anyone they find driving while impaired. In Newport Beach, the checkpoint will held tonight from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m.

“Our message is simple and unwavering: If we find you driving impaired, we will arrest you. No exceptions,” said Deputy Wayne Howard with the sheriff’s traffic bureau.

To avoid any dangerous scenarios or penalties, plan ahead: Designate a non-drinking and sober driver. Remember that a DUI conviction costs around $10,000, plus time in jail and the loss of your driver’s license.

“Even if you beat the odds and manage to walk away from an impaired-driving crash, the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for driving while impaired can still destroy your life,” Howard said.

More than 10,800 people died in 2009 in crashes in which a driver or motorcycle rider was at or above the legal limit, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Those with the highest percentage of alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities crashes was the 21-to-24 age group. 

The Avoid DUI Task Force Campaign is funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety, which asks everyone to report drunken driving by calling 911.