By Lookout Staff

August 24, 2011 – It should go without saying: don't drink and drive.

But for anyone needing a stronger reminder, the Santa Monica Police Department will be conducting a sobriety and drivers license checkpoint Friday evening, August 26.

“This is part of an ongoing campaign to reduce the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol-involved crashes,” said SMPD Spokesman Sgt. Richard Lewis.

The fourth checkpoint this year, it's designed to raise the community's awareness of the dangers of impaired driving while identifying offenders and removing them from the street.

Drivers license checks are part of the routine because unlicensed drivers are overrepresented in fatal crashes, Lewis said.

“The Santa Monica Police Department reminds drivers if you plan on drinking, have a designated driver or call a taxi cab to take you safely home,” he added.

Since the checkpoints have become a feature of law enforcement, statistics seem to be supporting their use.

Statewide, total traffic deaths are at their lowest levels in six decades, Lewis said.

Traffic fatalities dropped 23 per cent, from 3,995 in 2007 to 3,081 in 2009. During the same span, deaths due to DUI accidents dropped 16 per cent, from 1,132 to 950, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System.

Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.