Fresno police announce DUI checkpoint Saturday night to curb impaired driving
Fresno police will run a late-night DUI checkpoint Saturday, targeting crash hot spots and warning that one conviction can cost about $13,500.
Fresno police are warning drivers before a late-night DUI checkpoint that the agency says is meant to keep impaired motorists from causing another crash.
The checkpoint is scheduled for Saturday night, May 30, from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. at an undisclosed location in Fresno. Police said they choose checkpoint sites using crash data that shows where impaired-driving collisions have happened, with the goal of removing suspected impaired drivers from the road before another wreck occurs.
The department is also stressing that impairment is not limited to alcohol. Prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and marijuana can all affect a person’s ability to drive safely, and driving under the influence of marijuana remains illegal in California even though marijuana itself is legal.
Police are pairing the warning with a financial one that often lands harder than the arrest itself. A first-time DUI conviction can cost about $13,500 in fines and penalties, and it can lead to a suspended license.
The checkpoint is part of a broader traffic-safety effort funded through a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The California Office of Traffic Safety says it provides police-traffic grants to more than 200 law enforcement agencies across the state, and its grant guidance requires applications to be supported by local crash data showing a need for funding.
Recent local enforcement gives a sense of what these operations can turn up. At a Fresno checkpoint at Jensen and Cherry avenues, officers contacted 635 vehicles, arrested 8 drivers on suspicion of DUI and cited 41 drivers for driving unlicensed or with a suspended or revoked license.
State data shows the problem remains large. California Office of Traffic Safety figures show alcohol-impaired driving fatalities fell from 1,419 in 2022 to 1,355 in 2023. The agency also reported that in 2021, 50.3% of all drivers killed in crashes who were tested were positive for legal or illegal drugs.
Fresno’s Traffic Safety Section has been on the job for a long time. The unit was established in 1923, underscoring that checkpoint enforcement is part of a century-long local policing function aimed at keeping drivers alive long enough to make it home.
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