DUI checkpoint set Friday in Marysville

A drunken-driving checkpoint is set for Friday in Marysville.

Marysville police will check in with drivers at an undisclosed location between 6 p.m. Friday and 2 a.m. Saturday. Officers plan on examining drivers for signs of intoxication and looking at drivers licenses.

“Research shows that crashes involving alcohol drop by an average of 20 percent when well-publicized checkpoints are conducted often enough,” Sgt. Chris Sachs said in a statement.

Impaired drivers face jail time, license suspension, insurance hikes, DUI classes, fines and other expenses that police said can exceed $10,000.

Such checkpoints provide the most effective deterrent of any drunken driving enforcement strategy, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Authorities said about a third of all traffic fatalities are the result of drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Marysville police get $15K DUI grant

Marysville police received a $15,000 grant recently from the state Office of Traffic Safety to help combat drunken drivers.

Police plan using the money to fund DUI checkpoints and help educate the public on the dangers of impaired driving.

Drunken and drugged drivers are among America’s deadliest criminals, police said in a press release.

In 2010, 791 people were killed and more than 24,000 were injured in alcohol and drug-related collisions nationwide.

State officials said checkpoints have “essential” to the steady drop in DUI-related deaths in California since 2006.

Program funding comes from the state traffic safety office through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.