In a committed crackdown on inebriated drivers, Palm Desert police swung into action, netting four DUI arrests and clamping down on another for a felony drug warrant. The Riverside Sheriff's Department reported that the operation unfolded at the DUI checkpoint, strategically placed at Monterey Avenue and Country Club Drive.
From 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m, the checkpoint was a dragnet for delinquent drivers. A whopping 909 vehicles were contacted, giving the deputies the opportunity to conduct 18 field sobriety tests. In the process, 27 motorists were cited for hitching behind the wheel unlicensed or with their legal driving privileges curtailed or revoked. Those hours, often swaddled in the comfort of homes and hearts, were for these officers a bulwark against the menace of drug-fueled or alcohol-addled disasters.
Funding for this public safeguard comes not from some infinite coffers but in the form of a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
