By Lookout Staff
September 3, 2026 – With alcohol consumption increasing during holiday weekends, Santa Monica police will conduct a DUI checkpoint Friday at an undisclosed location in the city.
The checkpoint will take place from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. at a location where data show there is a higher incidence of impaired driving-related crashes, according to police.
On August 14, at the Traffic Unit's third grant-funded sobriety and driver's license checkpoint, 1,113 vehicles passed through and 303 drivers were screened, police officials said.
Officers administered 22 field sobriety tests, made one drug-related DUI arrest, documented five violations involving unlicensed or suspended drivers, and impounded one vehicle.
"The primary purpose of DUI checkpoints is to promote public safety by taking suspected impaired drivers off the road," police officials said in a statement. "Impaired drivers put others on the road at significant risk.
"Any prevention measures that reduce the number of impaired drivers on our roads significantly improve traffic safety," officials said.
In addition to alchohol, prescription medications and over the counter drugs, as well as recreational and medicinal marijuana, impair driving and can result in DUI arrests.
Alcohol remains the leading cause of DUI deaths. In 2024, there were 11,904 deaths nationwide from alcohol-impaired driving crashes, or an average of one every 44 minutes, down from 12,429 the previous year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
An investigation last year by CalMatters found that "alcohol-related roadway deaths have shot up by more than 50 percent" in California over the past decade, "an increase more than twice as steep as the rest of the country."
Police officials note that it is illegal for anyone 21 or older to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08% or higher.
According to the California Driver Handbook, it takes two drinks consumed within one hour by a woman between 120 and 160 pounds and three drinks by a man between 180 and 220 pounds to be over the legal limit.
One drink is based on 1.5 oz. of liquor (40% alcohol), 12 oz. of beer (4.5% alcohol) or a 5 oz. glass of wine (12% alcohol). The BAC lowers at a rate of .01% for every 40 minutes between drinks.
The average cost of a first-time DUI offense is approximately $13,500, "accounting for vehicle impound fees, fines, attorney fees, auto insurance hikes and other penalties," as well as a suspended license, police officials said.
Funding for the DUI checkpoint is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.