Motorists beware: Drunken driving checkpoints coming

Time to find a designated driver or alternative transportation if you intend to party during the holidays. 

Maricopa Police Department is cracking down on drunken drivers this season. 

Police will set up DUI checkpoints at undisclosed locations inside the city before the end of the year, the department states in a news release. It’s not the first such drinking-and-driving emphasis the department has conducted. 

The checkpoints are not to make arrests, but to promote public safety by deterring drivers from driving impaired, the release states. Officers will look for signs of substance use in motorists. 

“At a DUI checkpoint, our officers are primarily focused on identifying drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” Maricopa Police Chief Goodman told InMaricopa. 

Goodman said officers look for signs of impairment, such as erratic driving as someone approaches the checkpoint with slurred speech and the smell of alcohol on their breath. 

If officers suspect a driver may be impaired, they may conduct a field sobriety or alcohol screening test. 

Goodman emphasized that the department conducts its checkpoints in accordance with state law. 

Maricopa Police Department usually uses one of two methods when conducting their checkpoints to keep stops “systematic and unbiased”, Goodman said.  

The department may decide to stop every vehicle that passes through the checkpoint, or it may decide to use a predetermined pattern to select which vehicles to stop. 

MPD officials said some prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs may interfere with driving. While medicinal and recreational cannabis use is legal, driving under its influence is not. 

Officers are asking anyone to designate a driver is they plan on drinking, taking medications with driving restrictions or using narcotics. 

“Our message is clear – if you are under the influence, do not get behind the wheel,” Goodman said. “The safety of our community depends on it.”