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The West Valley Sheriff's Substation in Saratoga is targeting people driving under the influence this holiday season. A sobriety checkpoint will be set up Dec. 17 on Highway 9 to catch errant drivers. The checkpoint, located northbound on Highway 9 near Via Colina Drive, will operate from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Every car travelling northbound will be stopped that evening and drivers will be checked for sobriety. The checkpoint is part of a countywide campaign called "Avoid the 13."
Capt. John Hirokawa of the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department said that they had received a $40,000 grant to conduct four DUI checkpoints in Saratoga over the next year. "We have received the grant from the California Office of Transportation Safety. We have received the same amount for the city of Cupertino," he said.
Hirokawa said that another checkpoint will be organized next summer, followed by another in the 2005 holiday season.
"We have the option of organizing one other checkpoint at any time in the next year," he said. "These checkpoints do not cost the city anything."
The next checkpoint in the city might be held in another location.
"We get the information out about where exactly the checkpoint is going to be held. There are no secrets," said Hirokawa. "People should think hard before driving drunk on a major freeway."
Hirokawa said that the main purpose of such exercises is to avoid accidents and increase public awareness.
Highway 9 has been chosen as a checkpoint location because there is concern among local citizens about safety issues on the roadway, according to deputies.
"We must remember that the two people who were hit on the highway were hit by drunk drivers," said Hirokawa.
He said that the sheriff's department wanted to let drivers know that Highway 9 was being monitored. Two sergeants, two supervisors and 15 deputies will be part of the checkpoint on Dec. 17.
The last DUI checkpoint in the city was held over the summer on Highway 9. "Three hundred cars were stopped and two DUI arrests made," said Hirokawa. But deputies also cited and towed several cars for other driving violations. "We caught several drivers who were not licensed to drive."
Trends show that DUI-related cases were on the upswing again after a steady decline through the 1990s. "When I joined the sheriff's department almost two decades ago, we had three cars specifically to look for drunk drivers. Most nights we had two to four DUI-related arrests."
The holiday season generally sees a spike in DUI-related cases because of Christmas and company parties.
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