Subscribe
to the E-Star!

DUI: eight arrests over weekend

Brian Wilkinson

(Updated: Thursday, June 02, 2011, 12:15 PM)

A California Highway Patrol check point on Highway 41 in Oakhurst during a light rain last Saturday night resulted in zero arrests and just two misdemeanor citations for driving without a license.

Under the direction of checkpoint supervisor Sgt. Brad Denham, six officers has contact with 233 south bound drivers and evaluated eight drivers through field sobriety tests between 8 and 11 p.m.

The check point was scheduled to go from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. but was shut down two hours early for safety reason due the rare Memorial Day weekend rain.

"Our officers were looking to make some DUI arrests tonight but it did not happen," Denham said. "Typically the later the evening progresses the likelihood of finding a driver under the influence increases."

Officer Nick Cosentino said with today's technology, people find out quickly about the locations of check points from friends texting them. "Some will avoid the check point, others will have someone else driver while some people will just stay home," Cosentino said.

Cosentino said larger metropolitan areas usually result in more arrests because of the large volume of cars that are checked. He also said he has recently noticed a lot more designated drivers on the highways. "That's what we like to see."

While the checkpoint did not result in any arrests, there were eight DUI arrests in the Mountain Area from Friday night through Monday night. The CHP made two additional arrests for possession of narcotics after vehicle stops and a drunk in public arrest.

A field sobriety test starts with an officer asking a driver a series of questions that helps the officer analyze the driver's physical condition and to also determine what further tests will be given.

"If a person tells me they have bad knees, I'm not going to do a 'balance' test," said Cosentino. The officer will then focus other tests that do not require balance such as having the driver write the alphabet, count forwards and backwards on his fingers or an internal clock test that determines if the driver has the ability to stand in one position without showing impairment from alcohol or drugs.

One driver given a preliminary alcohol screening test registered an alcohol level of .028 but officers determined the driver was not impaired enough to be arrested. A .05 to .07 is presumed questionable for DUI and a driver with a .08 is presumed by law to be under the influence of alcohol.

Anyone granted the privilege to drive is presumed to have given consent to law enforcement to conduct testing of their blood or breath. If a driver refuses to take a blood or breath test, his/her license will be suspended for one year.

It has been estimated that a DUI conviction can cost a driver $7,000 or more in vehicle storage fees, jail costs, fines, penalties, DUI education, attorney fees and vehicle insurance increases.

In addition to checking for people driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, all drivers were checked for a valid driver's license.

Sgt. Denham explained that a recent Department of Motor Vehicles study of unlicensed driver is why the CHP now include license checks at sobriety check points. He said the study showed that 33% of drivers with a suspended license have a criminal record and 85% of those drivers have used their vehicle in the commission of a crime.

"According to the study, drivers with a suspended or revoked driver's license were involved in four times more fatal accidents and six times more injury accidents than a licensed driver," Denham said. "They (unlicensed drivers) also have eleven times more DUI convictions that a licensed driver."

While officers have the option to impound a vehicle for 30 days and arrest the driver when they do not possess a current license, two such drivers were allowed to have a friend drive their vehicles from the check point after they were issued citations.

A bill passed May 27 by the State Assembly would allow unlicensed motorists at a check point to park the vehicle until a licensed driver could pick it up. Courts have ruled that driving without a license doesn't warrant the loss of property according to Assemblyman Michael Allen of Santa Rosa, who introduced the bill.