Redlands Police ‘Ticket’ Sober Drivers

REDLANDS >> Redlands Police Department handed out tickets to sober drivers during a weekend sobriety checkpoint, but the drivers weren’t unhappy about it. Police handed out pairs of Inland Empire 66ers baseball tickets donated by Hatfield Buick to 20 sober drivers passing through a DUI/Driver License checkpoint Friday, May 27. A total of 243 vehicles passed through the checkpoint in the westbound lanes of Brookside Avenue at Eureka Street between 10 p.m. Friday, May 27, and 2 a.m. Saturday morning. One driver was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and found to have an open container of beer in the car. One driver was cited for driving with an expired license, and another was cited for driving on a suspended license. The purpose of sobriety checkpoints is to promote public safety, increase awareness of the dangers associated with drinking and driving, and serve as a deterrent to potential impaired and unlicensed drivers. Funding for this checkpoint was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. DUI checkpoints are components of the Redlands Police Department’s Responsible Redlands initiative. The Redlands Police Department, with the support of state agencies, including the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and Office of Traffic Safety, the County of San Bernardino, and local businesses and community groups, launched the initiative in late August 2013 to focus on enforcing alcohol laws. The Responsible Redlands initiative aims to curb the problems related to binge and underage drinking in Redlands in order to achieve a safer, healthier community. The campaign includes DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols to identify intoxicated drivers, party patrols to enforce the City’s Social Host Ordinance, decoy operations to cite businesses and individuals who provide alcohol to underage persons, and educational efforts for local businesses that serve alcohol. Responsible Redlands welcomes partnerships with alcohol retailers and establishments that serve alcohol. [END