SLO police plan DUI checkpoint, bike safety operation this weekend

The San Luis Obispo Police Department plans to conduct a DUI checkpoint and saturation patrol in the city Friday night.

Officials will be conducting a DUI saturation patrol from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Friday at an undisclosed location within the city limits, according to a news release. The checkpoint will be placed at a location based on collision statistics and the frequency of DUI arrests, the release said.

Officers will be looking for signs of alcohol and drug impairment — including marijuana, prescription drugs and some over-the-counter medication.

“In California, alcohol involved collisions led to 1,155 deaths and nearly 24,000 injuries in 2014 because someone failed to designate a sober driver,” the release said. “Over the course of the past three years, San Luis Obispo Police Officers have investigated 205 DUI collisions which have claimed two lives and resulted in another 62 injuries.”

The San Luis Obispo Police Department also will conduct a bicycle safety enforcement operation Thursday focused on collision-causing factors involving motorists and bicyclists, a news release said.

The department has mapped out locations within the city over the past three years where bicycle-involved collisions have occurred and noted the violations that led to those crashes.

Officers will be looking for violations made by drivers and bicyclists alike that can lead to life-changing injuries, the release said.

Funding for the patrols and checkpoints is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 4:49 PM with the headline "SLO police plan DUI checkpoint, bike safety operation this weekend."