By Jorge Casuso
September 23, 2025 -- The Santa Monica Police Department will conduct a DUI Checkpoint Friday, one month after arresting three drivers during a similar operation.
The undisclosed location of the checkpoint -- which will take place between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. -- is "determined based on data showing incidents of impaired driving-related crashes," police officials said.
A DUI Checkpoint conducted on August 29 on Pico Boulevard near Virginia Avenue Park screened 202 of the 422 vehicles that
passed through, according to police.
"The checkpoint led to three DUI arrests, with two suspected of alcohol impairment and one for cannabis impairment," SMPD said in its weekly blog, The Blue Notebook, for the week of August 24.
Officials note that "the primary purpose" of DUI checkpoints is to "promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off the road" who put others at significant risk.
The week after the checkpoint, a collision took place at Ocean Avenue and Bicknell Street on August 29, when a driver ran a stop sign and collided with a parked car and two pedestrians, the blog reported.
"One individual, who was behind the parked vehicle, suffered serious, life-threatening injuries," the blog said, adding that another individual, who was on the parkway, sustained minor injuries.
Police determined that the driver, who also sustained minor injuries, was impaired.
Also on August 29, SMPD traffic officers held a traffic enforcement operation throughout the city, including on San Vicente Boulevard and in Downtown Santa Monica.
The operation, which focused on posted sign violations, resulted in 57 stops and 47 citations, according to The Blue Notebook.
During that week, traffic officers made 119 traffic stops, issued 114 citations and 5 advisals, and conducted 25 traffic investigations, six of them hit-and-collissions, according to the blog.
In addition, patrol units made 124 traffic stops, issued 52 citations with 2 arrests, and issued 72 advisals.
The crackdown on dangerous drivers comes as the number of Fatal and Severe Injury (FSI) crashes in Santa Monica soared in 2024, marking the fourth straight year the numbers have risen, according to Transportation Department data.
There was a total of 60 crashes last year that resulted in severe injuries or deaths, a 54 percent rise over the 39 reported in 2023.
Last year's total also easily topped the 43 FSI crashes in 2019 that marked the highest total since at least 2010, the first year for which data was provided.
Of the 60 FSI crashes last year, 21 involved pedestrians, 9 involved bicyclists and 4 involved scooters, according to the data. The other 26 involved only cars.
This year, the only traffic fatality took place on the afternoon of August 15 when a pedestrian was struck by a car near the Expo train station Downtown.
The Santa Monica Fire Department transported the victim to a local area hospital where he was later pronounced dead, police said. There were no indications at the time that the driver was impaired.
Funding for Friday's DUI Checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
