CHP Ready for the 'War on Drunk Drivers' on the 101 Fwy

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.

Thanks to a quarter-million dollar grant, the agency this year will aggressively fight "the war on drunk drivers" (their words) by adding roving DUI patrols, sobriety checkpoints during times where historically there has been a high incidence of DUI driving violations, community education and the formation of a local task force that will look into the corridor, suggesting solutions.

 

Makes sense. That's the main thoroughfare from Hollywood (where people tend to get drunk) to the valley.

The way the article is worded sounds like they're going to setup a sobriety checkpoint on the fwy, which would be a traffic nightmare. Although, I'm sure it's probably going to be on like northbound Highlands heading toward the fwy onramp, or something like that.

 

I am confused. Westlake is like, way the hell out there past TO.

It's nowhere near North Hollywood, no?

 

No, nowhere near...but that is a single stretch of freeway from Westlake all the way down to NoHo, where the 101 freeway cuts south (and then the north part turns into the 170, which is basically just a connector from the 101 to the 5 in San Fernando) down toward Hollywood and then again curves to the east and heads into downtown.

Westlake is pretty much the furthest point out that people still make the commute into Hollywood to go out. Beyond that you start to head over the hill into Camarillo, which has its own social nightlife and stuff. I think that's why they are targeting that stretch of freeway.

There is also the Glendale / Pasadena people, but they're kind of hit or miss. The socialite Armenians in Glendale don't really leave Glendale ever, for anything. If they do, they just take Forest Lawn to Barham (where there is a sobriety checkpoint every once in a while) and head into Hollywood. Pasadena has its own nightlife on Colorado St. in Old Town, so there really is no pressing need to make the trek out to Hollywood.

 

Please make life easier for everyone and just add the system thats already out there to all these cars. Can't turn on the car if it senses alcohol. It's that simple.

 

They've had DUI checkpoints a few times the last few months or so... Its right off Kanan though - not near the fwy. Takes forever to get through

 

My friend lives in the area and says they have those check points every weekend. I thought it was around Kanan & T.O. Blvd.?

 

Yup the first time it was on the Side closer to the freeway, and then later on the other side pretty far down... I think one night they were setting up pretty late around 11 p.m. - Both times I just drove right through, I was kind of worried not having a front plate would give them an excuse to pull me over, and out. But just got waved right by....

 

Drove that route this afternoon and saw THREE accidents along there. One in Hollywood, one in Van Nuys, and in Sherman Oaks. On ONE trip! I haven't seen an accident along that route in over a year before today. Great job, fellas.

 

I'm all for DUI enforcement. Put those SOBs away... The problem is that if there are roving units on the 101, I imagine speed enforcement will be an unfortunate side effect.