Results tagged “dui”

Alexandra Forbes Kerry, 36, was arrested early this morning in Hollywood for allegedly driving while drunk. Pulled over for a traffic stop around 12:40 a.m., Kerry failed a field sobriety test, but refused to take a preliminary alcohol screening test in the field, leading to her arrest and booking at the local area station. "Cops took her to the station and then conducted a formal blood alcohol test which showed a level of .06," explained TMZ.

As with every weekend (and weekday), police are out to catch drunk drivers. Tonight, we know of two sobriety check points: one in Del Rey and another in Pasadena. From 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., the LAPD will hold a Sobriety & Drivers License Checkpoint at Lincoln Blvd and Maxella Ave at the border of the L.A. city neighborhood Del Rey and unincorporated Marina Del Rey. The LAPD's Pacific Area has experienced 108 DUI-related crashes and 963 hit and runs so far this year.

The holiday season always means more and more DUI checkpoints. With thousands of hit-and-runs and drinking-related crashes so far this year, the LAPD has two Sobriety & Drivers License Checkpoints set up for the weekend. The first is tonight 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. at West Florence Avenue and South Main Street in South L.A. Then tomorrow from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m., a checkpoint will be set up on Figueroa between 7th and 8th in downtown. Stay safe out there!

Watch out, folks! As always, never, never, never, never drink and drive. Halloween weekend is no exception and the LAPD is keeping an eye out. Over at Sunset and HIghland, a sobriety and drivers license checkpoint will be set up tonight between 8 p.m. and 3 a.m. Since the beginning of the year, there have been 127 driving under the influence-related and 989 hit and run traffic collisions in the Hollywood area.

The LAPD is setting up two sobriety & drivers license checkpoints this weekend. As always, just don't drink and drive and you'll be fine. Between 8:00 p.m. and 3:00 a.m. tonight, police will set a checkpoint up on Figueroa Street between 8th and 9th streets. Tomorrow in Cahuenga Pass between Hollywood and the Universal City area, a checkpoint will be set up...

Stephanie Pratt can add one more dubious claim to fame to her resume after an early Sunday morning arrest that took place outside a Hollywood nightclub, according to On The Red Carpet. Pratt, 23, the blonde fashion-student and sibling of the notoriously unlikeable Spencer Pratt (one half of the "Speidi" duo comprised of him and his starlet wife Heidi; LAist Interview) was "booked at the Van Nuys jail" and "released a few hours later after posting $5,000 bail."

Yesterday, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed two bills into law, both of which focus on restricting operation of a motor vehicle to previous DUI offenders, reports the Daily News. Assemblyman Mike Feur (D-Los Angeles) has authored AB 91, calling for the implementation of a pilot program in four counties that will put an ignition interlock device in "every vehicle owned or operated by a first-time DUI offender."

They better clear some jail cells for a bunch of drunk hipsters tonight. On the heels of 80 DUI incidents and 792 hit and runs in LAPD's Northeast Division this year, officers will hold a sobriety checkpoint at Sunset Boulevard and Echo Park Avenue tonight from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Expect some traffic in the area, especially in light of Thom Yorke's show around the corner at the Echoplex.

A 28-mile stretch of the 101 Freeway has been identified as one of the DUI-related high-collision areas in Los Angeles County. Between 2005 and 2007, 19 people died and 619 were injured in crashes involving a drunk driver along the corridor between North Hollywood and Westlake.

Last year, 40 people died statewide on roadways patrolled by the California Highway Patrol during Labor Day weekend. This year the number plummeted to 12 with 9 of those victims found not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. “Wearing a seat belt needs to become a habit for drivers and passengers alike,” said CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow. “Buckle up every trip, every time. It may save your life or the life of someone you love.” (we actually feel naked when our seat belt is not on). Also, DUI arrests were down 11 percent this year with 1,417 people caught by officers statewide. Last year, there were 1,586 DUI-related arrests. “Making an arrest is far easier than having to make a notification to the family member of someone whose life was cut short by a drunk or drugged driver," said Farrow. The agency credits the decline to their Maximum Enforcement Period they instituted, which assigns every available officer to the roads.

It's the last holiday weekend of the summer and that means more drinking and driving than usual. Last year Labor Day, 40 people died on California freeways--half of those killed were not wearing a seat belt, according to the California Highway Patrol. That said, the agency will begin a Maximum Enforcement Period statewide at 6:01 p.m. through midnight on Monday, meaning every available officer will be on the road keeping a vigilant eye out for errant drivers, mainly for violators of the three major causes of highway deaths: speeding, drinking and driving and not wearing a seat belt.

As mentioned last week, the LAPD tonight will hold a DUI Checkpoint in Hollywood at on Highland Avenue at Willoughby from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. After 66 driving under influence-related and 662 hit and run traffic collisions in the area just in 2009, police say they are using this checkpoint to "educate the community to use designated drivers and not drink and drive." Also, there will be a saturation patrol in the Newton Division, which covers the southern parts of downtown (Fashion District, Pueblo Del Rio, South Park-Entertainment). "These DUI saturation patrols are being deployed in response to an increase in DUI-related traffic collisions in the Newton geographic area of the Los Angeles Police Department," a police statement read.

Tonight and tomorrow night, the LAPD will be conducting a couple DUI checkpoints around the city. "Our Message is simple: If we catch you drunk, you will be arrested," they say.

Some people agree with DUI checkpoints and some hate them. Well instead of setting one up in the LAPD's Southwest Division tonight, they're doing a saturation patrol, meaning the area will be flooded with cops on the look out for drunk drivers. The division covers the the area just southwest of downtown including the USC campus (.pdf map). Compared to last year, the division has experienced a 32 percent increase in Driving Under the Influence related traffic collisions this year. The patrol will take place between 5 p.m. and 3 a.m. | UPDATE, 4:38 p.m.: LAPD will also saturate the Newton Division, which covers the south part of downtown and south of the 10 Freeway (Photo: Ross Reyes)

In just the first two days of the Memorial Day long weekend, authorities made more than 420 arrests for "suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Los Angeles County," the Pasadena Star-News reports, up from the 387 arrests in the same time frame last year. The count began at 12:01 a.m. Friday and these figures represent arrests logged until midnight Saturday. Motorists may have noticed the upped presence of patrols and checkpoints, which is thanks to the "Avoid the 100" campaign; 100 county law enforcement agencies working together as a "task force target[ing] intoxicated drivers" are the ones you'll want to avoid. Better yet, avoid any problems and either be the or designate a sober driver.

Yesterday, we told you why the LAPD announces DUI Checkpoints along with where one would be located in the Valley tonight. Now Central Traffic Division is announcing that they will hold one at Washington Boulevard and Lovelace Avenue from 7:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. "in response to an increase in DUI related traffic accidents" in the area.

On Friday night from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m., the LAPD is holding a sobriety checkpoint in Canoga Park at Reseda Boulevard & Sherman Way. Over the past year, the area has experienced over 50 crashes involving drunk drivers along with 346 hit and runs. That's why they are doing this, but, as many LAist readers have asked in the past, why do they announce it to the public? One reason is they have to by law, but according to Lt. John Romero, "a certain amount of prevention occurs just by a warning the public." What do you think? Should DUI checkpoints still be announced?

It's been a tough few weeks in Los Angeles. There's been too many incidents, alcohol related or not, involving cars and pedestrians. And it just so happens that the LAPD will be setting up a sobriety checkpoint tonight just West of the Staples Center and LA Live on Olympic Blvd. at Blaine Street from 7:00 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. In the last three months, a higher than normal amount of traffic collisions have occurred near that intersection, according to the LAPD. Have a good time tonight, just stay safe, everyone!

A 22-year-old Riverside man was allegedly drunk when he ran a red light hitting a sports car and killing three people, including the Angels' rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart. Andrew Thomas Gallo of Riverside will be charged with felony driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter, according to the LA Times. Gallo fled from the red minivan he was driving on foot and was found by police a mile away.

According to TMZ.com Clippers forward Zach Randolph was busted for a DUI at 2:25 am while swerving on the 405 in his Rolls Royce. Because of his prior DUI bust in Portland, Oregon Randolph was jailed without bail. According to the story he was just sprung.

We often hear about DUI checkpoints in the Los Angeles area, but tonight in Santa Monica they'll be doing something different. "We're giong to increase DUI enforcement with more officers on the street," explained Sgt. Renadli Thruston of the Santa Monica Police Department over the phone. "It's not just one checkpoint, it's throughout the area."

Friday night, the Beverly Hills Police issued a warrant carrying a $50,000 bail for actress Lindsay Lohan in connection with her duo of DUI arrests from 2007. However, the 22-year-old party girl "won't be in court today to respond," but her attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley will appear on her behalf, reports the Daily News. "Holley said she believes the warrant was issued as the result of a misunderstanding and that it should be cleared up in court." The warrant is connected to Lohan's probation, which stipulates she must report to her probation officer, undergo drug testing, participate in alcohol abuse education classes, perform community service, and serve time in jail (she served a whopping 84 minutes). In 2007, the starlet "pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of being under the influence of cocaine, no contest to two counts of driving with a blood-alcohol level above .08 percent and one count of reckless driving."

You should never drink and drive and to remind you of that, the LAPD is hosting two sobriety checkpoints tonight. One will be located at Vermont and 11th in the Koreatown area from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. Further South, the other checkpoint at Broadway and 51st Street from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. As the LAPD explains, "The purpose of the sobriety checkpoint is to reduce the number of traffic collisions involving intoxicated and unlicensed drivers through enforcement and public awareness." And now you're aware.

Yesterday, the Beverly Hills Police Department issued an arrest warrant for actress Lindsay Lohan, according to the Huffington Post. The BHPD released this statement last night:

In response to media inquiries, [the] Beverly Hills Police Department is confirming a warrant was in fact issued today [March 13] for the arrest of Lindsay Lohan. The $50,000 warrant issued by the Beverly Hills Superior Court stems from a May 2007 arrest of Miss Lohan for DUI and hit-and-run. The circumstances leading to the issuance of the warrant by the court are not readily available at this time. It is our hope that Miss Lohan will surrender herself so that this matter will be resolved in a timely manner.

Depressed lovers be warned, on Saturday the LAPD's South Traffic Division will be adding extra patrols to hunt down drunk drivers in the Harbor Area (San Pedro, Wilmington, Gateway). Why? "Harbor Area has experienced a 133% increase in DUI related traffic collisions in 2009 as compared to 2008," the LAPD explains in a notice. Unlike checkpoints, these "DUI saturation patrols" will roam the streets.

No matter which team you're rooting for, if you're headed out tomorrow to celebrate the Super Bowl, don't get all stupid about it. "Law enforcement officers around Southern California will be on the lookout for drunk drivers on Super Bowl Sunday," reports abc7.com. That doesn't mean you can't party, it just means you should plan to party responsibly, or face the consequences; "The CHP and local law enforcement organizations will deploy extra DUI patrols," and they have no qualms about issuing citations and making arrests. Of course, landing your drunk ass in jail is a far better fate than what can happen, or what has happened in the past: "Last year on Super Bowl Sunday, 12 people were killed and 167 others were injured in alcohol-related traffic accidents statewide."

There will be a sobriety checkpoint set up tonight from 6 p.m. until 1 a.m. on Harbor Boulevard between 5th and 1st Street, run by the South Traffic Division’s Crime Task Force/Driving Under the Influence Enforcement Detail. Why? Well, besides the fact that drunk driving is as dangerous as it is lame, the authorities would like to say that: "This operation will be conducted in an effort to reduce the incident of injuries, death, and property damage associated with the intoxicated driver at this location. Harbor Division has experienced an 11 percent increase in Driving Under the Influence related traffic collisions in the year 2008 as compared to 2007. The checkpoint will serve as a reminder to the community of Harbor Division to use designated drivers and not drink and drive." Need to hear this in more basic terms? "Our message is simple: if we catch you driving drunk, you will be arrested!"

Today will forever be remembered as The Day The Fun Died for those Californian motorists who revel in texting-while-driving. As we flip the calendar to 2009, that act becomes illegal whether you have an iPhone, a Blackberry, or a hefty Zack Morris phones from 1992.

Text Messaging (SB 28) This new law makes it an infraction to write, send, or read text-based communication on an electronic wireless communication device, such as a cell phone, while driving.

There's good news and bad news when it comes to driving-related incidents that happened over the holidays this past week. According to the Daily Breeze, "Six traffic deaths were reported over the holiday weekend in Los Angeles County and DUI arrests by California Highway Patrol officers were down from last year's total."

Good news, but not good enough. Compared to 100 arrests last year, LA County's California Highway Patrol office is reporting that only 30 drivers have been arrested for driving under the influence between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Friday this week. Statewide, there have been 167 arrests. The holiday period continues into this weekend with various sobriety checkpoints across the region. Tonight and tomorrow night, the Metro Red Line subway will operate until 3 a.m., so make use of it before the pilot program ends!