Sobriety checkpoints on tap over the holiday weekend

Sobriety checkpoints are in the works for this Labor Day weekend in Ventura County as Avoid the 14 cracks down on impaired drivers, according to Senior Officer Humberto Jimenez of the Oxnard Police Department and Avoid the 14 campaign coordinator.

Avoid the 14, a combined effort named for all 14 law enforcement agencies in Ventura County, arrested 88 DUI suspects over last year's Labor Day weekend. The county had no DUI deaths.

One checkpoint will be in Ventura on Friday and another in Port Hueneme on Saturday.

The increased enforcement is part of a nationwide summer DUI prevention effort sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that focuses on combining high-visibility enforcement with heightened public awareness.

Jimenez recommends three weapons in the war on DUI: "Buckle your seat belt so you have less chance of being hurt in a crash. Designate a sober driver to get everyone else home from a party. Dial 911 from your mobile phone to let us know about dangerous drivers on the road, and we'll go right out after them."

CHP cruisers from the Moorpark and Ventura offices will flood the freeways throughout the four-day Labor Day weekend, said Moorpark CHP Capt. Cliff Williams. His office will have extra graveyard shift coverage through the weekend. Sgt. Phil Cole of Ventura CHP reports that his office will field roving DUI enforcement Sunday through Thursday.