Police searching for drunken drivers during holidays

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Law enforcement at a DUI checkpoint.

Los Angeles police will be out in force tonight searching for drunken drivers across the city.

The Los Angeles Police Department is joining law agencies across the state in an 18-day crackdown that will include about 300 sobriety and license checkpoints, according to LAPD Media Relations.

"People get caught up in the holiday parties and they forget,'' Los Angeles police Sgt. Charles Swanson of the Valley Traffic Division said early today. "There's more drinking during the holidays. It's just part of the culture.''

Earlier today, Valley Traffic officers booked 10 people stopped at a checkpoint on Cahuenga Boulevard near Universal City on suspicion of violations, mostly drunken driving, a duty officer said.

In North Hollywood at 6 p.m., police will set up a DUI stop on Vineland Boulevard near Vanowen Street, according to the Valley Traffic Division.

The Valley Traffic Division, which covers the entire San Fernando Valley, reported 162 drunken driving collisions as of Nov. 14, a 10 percent increase from last year, Valley Traffic Cmdr. Phillip Trotter said.

Statewide last year, 1,029 people driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 percent or more died. More than 28,000 people were injured in alcohol-related crashes, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.

By some estimates, a drunken driving arrest in Los Angeles County can cost more than $8,000 in fines and associated costs.

"Drunk driving is simply not worth the risk,'' Christopher J. Murphy of the state agency said. "Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, but the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving can be significant.''

Other sobriety checkpoints scheduled tonight in Los Angeles include:

-- Highland Avenue between Franklin Avenue and Odin Street just south of the Hollywood Hills, from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

-- Florence Avenue between Western Avenue and St. Andrews Place just east of Hyde Park, from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Getting the message to sink in with the public is a challenge, Swanson said.

"But it's not about being falling-down drunk. It's about being impaired. If you're impaired, you will be arrested.''